E. Solheim et al., BONE-FORMATION IN CRANIAL, MANDIBULAR, TIBIAL, AND ILIAC BONE-GRAFTS IN RATS, The Journal of craniofacial surgery, 6(2), 1995, pp. 139-142
Several studies have suggested that grafts from membranous derived bon
e (e.g., calvarial grafts) retain their volume better than those from
endochondral derived bone (e.g., iliac bone grafts). Increased osteoge
nesis in grafts of the former type has been offered as the explanation
. However, simple volume measurements of the recovered grafts do not d
ifferentiate between viable and dead bone. We studied fresh syngeneic
full-thickness bone grafts from calvaria, mandibula, tibia diaphysis,
and iliac bone implanted in the back muscles of young Lewis rats. Bone
formation in grafts recovered 3 weeks postoperatively was quantitativ
ely evaluated by strontium 85 uptake analyses. We found that the stron
tium 85 uptake was greater in calvarial and mandibular grafts than in
tibial grafts. No difference was found among calvarial, mandibular, an
d iliac grafts or between tibial and iliac grafts. We conclude that th
e anatomical area of harvest is important regarding new bone formation
in syngeneic bone grafts. However, the results do not support the con
tention that better maintenance of volume of calvarial grafts compared
with iliac bone grafts is due to enhanced osteogenesis in the former.