The role of bone biopsy in evaluating bone disease.
The maintenance of a functional skeleton depends on interactions between osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Disease results from changes in anabolism and catabolism. Because the skeletal system has two major functions, mechanical and metabolic, there are two classes of metabolic bone diseases: those that primarily affect structural homeostasis, as in osteoporosis and Paget's disease, and those that primarily affect mineral homeostasis, as in hyperparathyroidism and osteomalacia. Biopsy can be valuable in distinguishing these.
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