A RAPID METHOD FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF BONE ARCHITECTURE BY CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY

Conventional ways of demonstrating and analysing the components of oss eous tissue have always been hampered by the difficulty of physically sectioning bone. In this study, we have used Acridine Orange staining of 100-mu m-thick unembedded bone slices and then assessed the cellula r and tissue architecture by confocal microscopy. The result showed th e Acridine Orange, by differential staining of the cellular nucleic ac ids, permits ready assessment of cell shape and cell organization as w ell as variations in growth patterns. Our studies have provided a new and relatively easy way of assessing the morphology of bone specimens by rendering unnecessary the need for embedding, decalcification and t hin sectioning of the osseous tissue.