• A drug or substance used to treat hypercalcemia (abnormally high blood calcium) and bone pain caused by some types of cancer. Forms of bisphosphonates are also used to treat osteoporosis and for bone imaging. Bisphosphonates inhibit a type of bone cell that breaks down bone.
  NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• Organic compounds which contain P-C-P bonds, where P stands for phosphonates or phosphonic acids; these compounds affect calcium metabolism; they inhibit ectopic calcification and slow down bone resorption and bone turnover; technetium complexes of diphosphonates have been used successfully as bone scanning agents.
  CRISP Thesaurus
  National Institutes of Health, 2006
• (bisphosphonate) Medications, including alendronate and etidronate, used to prevent and treat osteoporosis by slowing the breakdown of bone.
  Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
  Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011