Bone microarchitecture in human fetuses

Peyrin, Françoise and Boivin, Georges and Braillon, Pierre (2005) Bone microarchitecture in human fetuses. Clinical cases in mineral and bone metabolism, 2 (2). pp. 150-158. ISSN 1971-3266

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Abstract

Bone microarchitecture is receiving increasing attention in the assessment of the biomechanical properties of bone. While it is well characterized in normal and pathologic human subjects, few quantitative data are available in human fetal development. In this paper, quantitative parameters of bone microarchitecture in developing human bone are reviewed from the literature and supplemented by new data from the femoral metaphysis of human fetuses. The samples were imaged using synchrotron radiation 3D micro-CT and processed using customized analysis methods. This technique provides 3D model independent morphometric parameters, anisotropy, connectivity and geometry characteristics, as well as information on mineralization. The morphometric parameters obtained on fetal vertebrae and femurs evidenced a dense trabecular structure as compared to that of young adults. The histomorphometric and the 3D micro- CT analysis were consistent to show a significant increase of trabecular bone volume with gestational age. Trabecular bone was found isotropic in vertebral bodies and anisotropic in femoral metaphysis, demonstrating a radial growth in vertebrae, and a longitudinal spreading out in long bones such as the femurs. Trabecular thickness in the mature bone of vertebral body and femoral metaphysis was around 100 μm, which was in agreement with histomorphometric evaluation. In the femoral metaphysis, three-dimensional analysis confirmed the thickening of trabeculae with the distance to the growth plate, and an estimated rate of thickening around 3 μm/day previously obtained in histomorphometry. The 3D network was highly connected, and our new geometrical analysis technique showed a strong prevalence of rod structure as compared to the plate structure in cancellous bone

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Bone microarchitecture, fetus, micro-CT, three-dimensional imaging, development
Subjects:	600 Tecnologia - Scienze applicate > 610 Medicina e salute (Classificare qui la tecnologia dei servizi medici) > 616 Malattie (classificare qui la Clinica medica, la medicina basata sull'evidenza, la Medicina interna, la Medicina sperimentale) > 616.7 Malattie del sistema muscoloscheletrico
Depositing User:	Danilo Dezzi
Date Deposited:	24 Apr 2014 13:54
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2014 13:54
URI:	http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/id/eprint/8866

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