Surgical intervention in enchondral and membranous bone: intraindividual comparisons in the rabbit

The long bones, which are of enchondral origin, are often used in histologic evaluations of dental implants that clinically will be placed in bones of membranous origin.

The aim of this investigation was to study the effect of surgical trauma by multiple drill perforations on both enchondral and membranous bone--the tibial and maxillary bone architecture--8 weeks after surgery.

In eight rabbits the medial metaphyses of both tibiae and the edentulous ridges of both sides in the maxilla were surgically exposed. On the test sides, 25 to 30 holes were drilled through the cortical plate and 5 mm into the medullary space. The contralateral sides underwent no treatment and served as controls. Eight weeks later the animals were killed to obtain transverse ground sections for histomorphometry. A paired analysis of the bone densities of the tibiae and the jaw specimens was made.

In general the morphologic appearances of the test and control tibiae were similar. In the control group the anatomy of the medullary space appeared normal, with few bone trabeculae and with abundant marrow tissue. In the test group, areas of resorption were evident on the cortical bone plate that had been perforated 8 weeks previously; also evident were ingrowths of marrow tissue and bone formation. In a few specimens some newly formed bone trabeculae were found in the medullary space, both contiguous to the perforated cortical bone plate and as small islets in the marrow tissue. The mean test and control site values for each parameter were similar, and no statistically significant differences were found. In the maxilla, the bone architecture had altered substantially by way of an increase in the proportion of trabecular bone and a decrease in the proportion of cortical bone. Drilling appeared to have little effect on tibial bone density, which did not significantly differ between test and control sites. Maxillary bone density, however, was significantly greater at the test sites than at the control sites. Comparisons of bone density between tibia and jaw specimens revealed no significant differences either between test sides or between control sides. Thus, the same magnitude of surgical trauma that altered the bone architecture and density of the rabbit maxilla was not found to have altered those of the tibia in the same animal 8 weeks after surgery. The reasons for the differences are discussed in this article.

As observed 8 weeks post surgery, multiple drill perforations were not found to cause significant alterations in the metaphysis of the tibia whereas a considerable change in bone architecture and an increase in bone density were found in the maxilla. Whether this depends on different embryologic origins or reflects morphologic and functional differences in the mature bone demands further study.