Osteoporosis is a bone disease marked by brittle and fragile bones. In this assignment, you will explore this disease in more detail using the scenario below.

Scenario:
During a recent visit with a female relative, the relative informs you that she has been diagnosed with osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis. In order to help your relative, you decide to research this disease further.

To complete this assignment, do the following:

1. Research this disease using a minimum of 2 sources. You can use your textbook for one of the sources. Choose the remaining source(s) from the GALE Virtual Reference Library provided on the Structure and Function of the Human Body library guide page.
2. In a minimum of 2 pages (not counting the references page), address the following:
   • Explain how osteoporosis develops and the potential causes.
   • Describe the ways that your relative can prevent the onset of osteoporosis.
3. Include a references page at the end of your document, formatted using the APA guidelines, that lists your research sources.

Submit your completed assignment by following the directions linked below. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.

Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document. (Mac users, please remember to append the “.docx” extension to the filename.) The name of the file should be your first initial and last name, followed by an underscore and the name of the assignment, and an underscore and the date. An example is shown below: