Fig. 3From: The challenges of diagnosing osteoporosis and the limitations of currently available toolsStrategic arrangement of cortical and trabecular bone. The proximal femur experiences forces in different directions. a The critical aspects of femoral neck strength superimposed onto a hip DXA scan image. b With standing, the femoral neck experiences compress forces on the inferior surface and tensile forces on the superior surface. Compressive loads are reinforced with a compressive arcade composed of a thickened inferior cortex and an additional trabecular network. The tensile arcade is reinforced with a network of trabecular bone. These reinforcements are combined with lateral and medial cortices that provide additional reinforcements against side-to-side forces. NanoCT images were taken at 27 μm resolution using a phoenix nanotom-s (GE Sensing and Inspection Technologies, GmbH, Wunstorf, Germany)Back to article page