We describe a new technique to produce a closed fracture of the rabbit
tibia with reproducible location and shape of the fracture. The hindl
imb of a New Zealand White rabbit was enclosed in a bivalved cast, a 1
.5 mm diameter hole was drilled through the lateral tibial cortex, and
the tibia was fractured by loading in three-point bending in an arbor
press. The cast protected the soft tissues from being crushed while i
t concentrated the bending moment at the intended fracture site. The c
ortical hole functioned as a stress riser and fracture initiation site
, such that the influence of the loading rate on the fracture characte
ristics was minimized. Transverse fractures or oblique fractures at an
y desired angle could be produced by variations of the position of the
cortical drill hole relative to the central loading point. Thirty-fou
r tibial fractures (18 transverse and 16 oblique) were produced. The r
abbits were killed immediately, and the fracture angle and the extent
of tissue damage were evaluated radiographically, as well as macroscop
ically This method produced a consistent location of the fracture, wit
h 88% reproducibility of the fracture angle and only minor damage to t
he adjacent soft tissues.