Trabecular and subchondral bone development of the talus and distal tibia from foal to adult in the warmblood horse |
| |
Authors: | B. M. C. Gorissen C. F. Wolschrijn B. van Rietbergen L. Rieppo S. Saarakkala P. R. van Weeren |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Department of Pathobiology, Anatomy and Physiology Division, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands;2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Orthopaedic Biomechanics Division, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands;3. Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland;4. Medical Research Center, University of Oulu, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland;5. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland;6. Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands |
| |
Abstract: | Horses are precocial animals and able to stand and walk within hours after birth. To cope with associated loading, intrauterine bone development has shown to be anticipative. This study provides further insight into the post‐natal development of structurally important features of trabecular and subchondral bone of the talus and sagittal ridge of the tibia of warm‐blooded horses. In all areas studied, the average bone volume fraction showed a gradual increase over time, which was the result of a significant increase in trabecular thickness, without significant changes in the degree of anisotropy. Similar to the mineralised part of the bone, collagen content, measured as average retardation using polarised light microscopy, increased significantly, but the degree of anisotropy of the collagen type I network did not. At birth, the subchondral bone layer had a more trabecular aspect, gradually changing to an even surface with only a few vascular canals at an age of 2 months. Presented results indicate the necessity for a stronger structure, but not for a different structural design after birth, providing further evidence for anticipatory bone development in the horse. More knowledge about the strategies used to cope with mechanical loading after birth might be helpful in understanding the developmental bone and joint diseases. |
| |
Keywords: | bone development collagen type I horse micro‐CT polarised light microscopy Wolff's law |
|
|