Bone tissue composition varies across anatomic sites in the proximal femur and the iliac crest.

Thus, the average cortical tissue mineral content and the widths of the distributions of cortical crystal size/perfection differ at the subtrochanteric femur relative to the greater trochanter and the iliac crest. In particular, the cortex of the iliac crest has lower mineral content relative to that of the subtrochanteric femur and may have limited utility as a surrogate for subtrochanteric bone. Donnelly E, Meredith DS, Nguyen JT, Boskey AL. J Orthop Res. 2011 Oct 27. doi: 10.1002/jor.21574. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22034199