Women’s Bone Health: Breathing Life into the Skeleton

The shape and size of bones define our physical selves and provide protection for internal organs and leverage sites for muscles. These mechanical properties of the skeleton create a static image of bone health, with impaired microarchitecture of bone and consequent fracture hallmarks of tissue failure. Yet bone is constantly created, modeled, and remodeled throughout the course of a woman’s life, and its structure and health are intimately involved with calcium metabolism and sustenance of bone marrow cells. This chapter will discuss the systemic and local factors that affect bone health throughout the life of a woman, emphasizing the vulnerable, living quality of bone that is often lost in translation when tests are interpreted and treatments recommended.