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Bone Abstracts (2013) 1 PP37 | DOI: 10.1530/boneabs.1.PP37

ECTS2013 Poster Presentations Bone biomechanics and quality (28 abstracts)

Microarchitectural decay and microdamage accumulation in vertebral trabecular bone: a comparative analysis of the iliac crest, proximal femur, and vertebral body in the aged postmenopausal skeleton

Vincent T Carpentier 1, , Dzenita Muratovic 1, , Ian H Parkinson 1, , Nick L Fazzalari 3 & Julia S Kuliwaba 3,


1Bone and Joint Research Laboratory, Directorate of Surgical Pathology, South Australia Pathology and Hanson Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; 2Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts , USA; 3Discipline of Anatomy and Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; 4Bone and Joint Research Laboratory, Adelaide Centre for Spinal Research, South Australia Pathology and Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.


Study aim: The general assumption that changes in bone microstructure and material properties at the iliac crest are representative of skeletal sites that are susceptible to osteoporotic fracture has not yet been addressed. Therefore, our study aim was to perform a comparative analysis of bone microarchitecture, accumulated microdamage and osteocyte morphology between the iliac crest, proximal femur and vertebral body.

Methods: Trabecular bone cores were obtained from the iliac crest, proximal femur (intertrochanteric region) and T12 vertebral body (central region) from seven postmenopausal female cadavers, aged 70–98 years (mean 79±9 years), with no history of disease/medication that may have affected bone turnover. All bone cores were micro-CT imaged for 3D microarchitecture, then divided lengthwise for histomorphometric assessment of microdamage and osteocyte morphology.

Results: BV/TV, Tb.N, and DA were lower for vertebral bone compared to iliac crest (P<0.05). Other architectural parameters were not different between sites. Microcrack, crack surface and diffuse damage density were higher in vertebral vs iliac crest and proximal femur bone (P<0.01). Crack lengths were similar between vertebral and femoral bone, with both sites higher vs iliac crest (P<0.05). Osteocyte, empty lacunar and total lacunar densities were not different between sites. Percent empty lacunae was increased in iliac crest vs femoral bone (P<0.05).

Conclusions: There is variability in trabecular bone microarchitecture, damage accumulation and osteocyte morphology between skeletal sites. Vertebral trabecular bone is typified by microarchitectural decay and microcrack and diffuse damage accumulation, suggesting that the vertebral body is structurally and functionally compromised in the aged postmenopausal skeleton.

Volume 1

European Calcified Tissue Society Congress 2013

Lisbon, Portugal
18 May 2013 - 22 May 2013

European Calcified Tissue Society 

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