Region-dependent patterns of trabecular bone growth in the human proximal femur: A study of 3D bone microarchitecture from early postnatal to late childhood period.

While providing quantitative data on how bone microarchitecture adapts to increasing mechanical demands occurring during the phases of locomotor maturation, the study reveals how regional anisotropy develops in the proximal femur to ensure a functional and competent bone structure. Decomposing the region-specific patterns of bone mass accrual is important in understanding skeletal adaptations to bipedalism, as well for understanding why fractures often occur location-dependent, both in pediatric and elderly individuals.