Bone-mineral content of the femoral neck and spine versus the radius or ulna.

The interrelationship between the bone-mineral content of sites on the radius or ulna and that of the femoral neck and lower thoracic vertebrae of twenty-four human skeletons was determined. The average correlation coefficients, -/r, were 0.82 and 0.57. Regression analysis showed that the bone-mineral content of the radius provides a good estimate of the bone-mineral content of the femoral neck (standard error of estimate approximately 16 per cent). Multiple regression analysis using the age of the subject and the bone-mineral content of the radius provides an equation with a similar standard error of estimate for the vertebrae.