Henderson JE Goltzman D, editors:

The Osteoporosis Primer, 388 pp, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000 ($64.95).

Although there are several books on metabolic bone disease, The Osteoporosis Primer is an excellent introductory text, most useful to those interested in a more general approach to the field. It is divided into four sections dealing with the molecular and cellular environment of the bone, determinants of peak bone mass, pathophysiology of the aging skeleton, and clinical aspects of osteoporosis. Throughout the text, clinical aspects of the disease are constantly correlated with the underlying cellular and molecular phenomena. Informative tables and lucid illustrations make the key concepts easy to understand and the book easy to read. It is also a very good source of references for further reading. My only suggestion for the next edition would be to include more on the histomorphometric analysis of osteoporotic bone. Microscopic morphometry has been widely used for evaluating osteoporosis, and such studies have contributed to the better understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms, and for evaluating the effectiveness of new therapeutic approaches.

This book is recommended primarily to general internists, family physicians, and gerontologists, but it would be of interest to orthopedic surgeons, gynecologists, and endocrinologists as well. Pathologists might particularly value a comprehensive description of cellular and subcellular aspects of metabolic bone disorders.