CASE STUDY Aunt Tillie Is Getting Shorter Aunt Tillie is 94 years old. She is mentally alert and emotionally stable. She has a problem however. As the years have passed, she has become shorter. Her...

CASE STUDY

Aunt Tillie Is Getting Shorter

Aunt Tillie is 94 years old. She is mentally alert and emotionally stable. She has a problem however. As the years have passed, she has become shorter. Her niece, Nancy, noticed that whereas she used to be able to look Aunt Tillie in the eye, now she has to look down in order to meet Aunt Tillie’s gaze. Aunt Tillie seems to have gotten frail as well. Concerned, Nancy took Aunt Tillie for a checkup. A DEXA scan showed that for her age, Aunt Tillie’s bones were reasonably dense. No real evidence for osteoporosis. Analyze this situation. What can you conclude about Aunt Tillie’s health and her bone structure? Why is her skeleton shrinking?