Bone is a highly specialized supporting framework of the body, characterized by its rigidity, hardness, and power of regeneration and repair. It protects the vital organs, provides an environment for marrow, acts as a mineral reservoir for calcium homeostasis and a reservoir of growth factors and cytokines, and also takes part in acid-base balance. Bone metabolism is characterized by an intimate cooperation of bone cells including osteoblasts, osteoclasts and osteocytes in order to maintain a regulated amount of bone tissue and the integrity of bone structure. In metabolic bone diseases such...