Renal osteodystrophy is currently defined as an alteration of bone morphology in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).[1] It is one measure of the skeletal component of the systemic disorder of chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD).[1][2][3] The term "renal osteodystrophy" was coined in 1943,[4] 60 years after an association was identified between bone disease and kidney failure.[5]
The traditional types of renal osteodystrophy[6] have been defined on the basis of turnover and mineralization as follows: 1) mild, slight increase in turnover and normal mineralization; 2) osteitis fibrosa, increased turnover and normal mineralization; 3) osteomalacia, decreased turnover and abnormal mineralization; 4) adynamic, decreased turnover and acellularity; and, 5) mixed, increased turnover with abnormal mineralization.[1] A Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes report has suggested that bone biopsies in patients with CKD should be characterized by determining bone turnover, mineralization, and volume (TMV system).[2]
On the other hand, CKD-MBD is defined as a systemic disorder of mineral and bone metabolism due to CKD manifested by either one or a combination of the following: 1) abnormalities of calcium, phosphorus, PTH, or vitamin D metabolism; 2) abnormalities in bone turnover, mineralization, volume, linear growth, or strength (renal osteodystrophy); and 3) vascular or other soft-tissue calcification.[1][7]