Density calculation sometimes can be confusing

[Rev. Cheeseman]

No. You do not have the mass or weight. That is why you need to estimate it from what you can infer.

So, the bone mineral weight or mass that is calculated from the DEXA scan machines are just estimations?

 

[chemisttree]

Yes. You actually measure mass with something like a mass scale which measures force due to mass. The machine you describe can measure the attenuation of the x-ray beam as it passes through the bone and that is correlated to mass.