Osteoporosis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality amongst the elderly. With the prediction that the number of people who are 60 years or more will increase from ∼300 million to greater than 700 million in the next 25 years, it can be appreciated that osteoporosis will rapidly reach epidemic proportions. This will not only represent a huge health care cost but also compromise the physical well-being and quality of life of a substantial segment of the world's population.

Osteoporosis has been defined as ‘… a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture.’ By World Health Organization standards, the term osteoporosis is used to designate bone mass values of 2.5 standard deviations below the young adult mean. Using this criterion, based on bone mass alone, 18 million North Americans have established osteoporosis and 10 million have osteopenia, which is a major risk factor for osteoporosis.

As a consequence of these alarming predictions there has been a steady increase in the attention focused on the physiology and pathophysiology of bone. Many excellent texts are now available, which deal in depth with topics related to the clinical presentation and management of osteoporosis.