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Which bones are commonly measured during bone mineral density testing?

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bone disease Defect of tibia, caused by septic osteomyelitis in childhood, with compensatory thickening of the fibula (right). Normal bones are shown at left.

To determine if an individual is affected by a reduction in bone density, testing is typically performed on specific areas of the skeleton. The bones most commonly measured during bone mineral density testing include:

The spine (specifically the lumbar spine)12
The hips12
The wrists or the radius (a bone in the forearm)12

These measurements are essential for assessing the risk of fracture and diagnosing conditions such as osteopenia or osteoporosis. The most widely used procedure for these assessments is dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA or DEXA) scan.12