Table 1.

Fundamental differences in bone histomorphometry between osteoporosis and osteomalacia.

Histomorphometric feature	Osteoporosis	Osteomalacia
Mineralization lag time (Mlt)	<100 days or shorter	>100 days or infinity
Osteoid maturation time	Normal	Prolonged
Osteoid thickness (O·Th)	Normal/low	Always high (>12.5 μm)
O·Th correlation with OS/BS	None	Positive & hyperbolic
O·Th correlation with Aj.AR	Weakly positive	Negative & hyperbolic
Osteoblast defect	Matrix	Mineral

Aj.AR: adjusted mineral apposition rate; OS/BS: osteoid and total bone surfaces respectively; see also Fig. 1, Fig. 2). Modified from reference (Parfitt, 1998).