Trabecular rod thickness by direct measurement from 3D SEM anaglyphs

Large-scale bone mineral histomorphometry-report of a simplified technique

AIMS

The aim of this study was the development of a simplified technique for bone mineral histomorphology on large undecalcified bone samples. Established techniques, such as undecalcified bone thin sectioning, ultrathin grinding, surface-stained block grinding and micro-computerized tomography (CT), are expensive, time-consuming and put very high demands on equipment, safety standards, personnel and laboratory facilities.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The method is based on the surface-stained block-grinding principle; however, its novelty lies in the selection of user-friendly, safe and low-cost materials, equipment and digitization techniques. We describe in detail the relevant steps, as well as many practical tips for their successful implementation: accurate bone cutting in thin sections with a customized arrangement on a commercial bandsaw, defatting with sodium hypochlorite, embedding in epoxy resin blocks at room temperature, silicon carbide paper grinding, von Kossa staining, flatbed scanner digitization and image processing.

CONCLUSION

We believe that the proposed methodology could contribute to the expansion of the study of bone tissue, as it enables the rapid examination of bone specimens on a large scale with minimal laboratory requirements and consumables costs.

Model-Independent 3D Descriptors of Vertebral Cancellous Bone Architecture

High-resolution micro computed tomography has enabled measurement of bone architecture derived from 3D representations of cancellous bone. Twenty-eight vertebral bodies were obtained from four embalmed male cadavers. From 3D anaglyphs, trabecular rod thickness and length were measured and the trabecular rod Buckling index was calculated. From 3D voxel-based datasets, bone volume density, trabecular thickness, and trabecular separation were measured. Also, trabecular bone pattern factor, structural model index, connectivity density, and degree of anisotropy were calculated. Bone volume density alone explains 59% of the variability in trabecular rod Buckling index. The addition of connectivity density, trabecular separation, and structural model index, in a multiple regression statistical model, improves the explanatory power to 77%. The relationships between measures of cancellous bone architecture and a derived measure of trabecular rod strength were investigated. Morphological descriptors of cancellous bone provide a composite explanatory model of trabecular rod strength.

Textural characteristics of the iliac-femoral trabecular pattern in a bipedally trained Japanese macaque

Previous research has revealed that Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) trained in bipedal performance (Saru-mawashi) display a number of functionally related external skeletal changes, as well as some site-specific endostructural cortical and cancellous adaptations. Through radiography assisted by digital image processing, we investigated the trabecular pattern of the ilium and femoral neck of Sansuke, a macaque habitually bipedally trained for 8 years. A set of eight regions of interest on Sansuke were recorded for subtle structural characterization of the cancellous network and compared to a sample of 5 ilia and 23 femurs from 26 adult wild Japanese macaques. The measured variables include trabecular thickness, trabecular bone volume, and degree of anisotropy. As a whole, the site-specific textural characteristics of the cancellous network detected on the ilium and proximal femur of the bipedally trained macaque can be interpreted as functional adaptive responses to more compressive loads dissipated along the axis from the sacro-iliac to the coxo-femoral joint, and back.

Trabecular rod buckling index in thoraco-lumbar vertebral bone†

The need for improved mechanistic understanding of cancellous bone failure is at the core of important clinical problems such as osteoporosis, as well as basic biological issues such as bone formation and adaptation. Three-dimensional (3D) anaglyphs were produced from 15 T12 and L1 vertebral bodies, which encompass the adult life span in both sexes. The anaglyphs were viewed with red-green stereo glasses, using an image analyzer, and trabecular thickness and trabecular length were measured. From biomechanical principles, the strength of individual trabeculae can be estimated from measurement of trabecular rod thickness and trabecular rod length as the load to buckling index. The distribution of the load to buckling index was best described by a log normal curve. Trabecular rod thickness, trabecular rod length, and load to buckling index for males were consistently greater than for females. With aging, trabecular rod thickness, and the load to buckling index decrease for males while trabecular rod length increases for females. In this study, the load to buckling index for thoraco-lumbar vertebral trabecular rods potentially quantifies a greater risk of vertebral fracture for females. Decreased trabecular rod thickness or increased trabecular rod length result in the strength of trabeculae shifting closer to a putative fracture threshold. The corollary being that there is a reduced safety margin for resistance to mechanical loads for the vertebral bodies. The 3D anaglyph technique for measuring trabecular dimensions provides an accurate and precise methodology by which these morphological studies can be undertaken.