Variability of trabecular microstructure is age-, gender-, race- and anatomic site-dependent and affects stiffness and stress distribution properties of human vertebral cancellous bone

► Cancellous bone microstructural variability (MV), stiffness and stress distribution. ► Relationship of MV with donor age, gender, race and, thoracic 12 and lumbar 1. ► We used microcomputed tomography, finite element modeling and 3D stereology. ► MV decreases bone stiffness, increases stress variability independently from average. ► MV increases with age, is greater in females than in males and in T12 than in L1.