Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Skeletal deformities and mortality in grey herons (Ardea cinerea) at Besthorpe heronry, Nottinghamshire
Y Feltrer1, E R C Draper, M Perkins
1Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London.
Abstract:
Dead and sick grey heron chicks with multiple fractures of the leg and wing bones and/or bone deformities have been reported at Besthorpe Nature Reserve heronry in north Nottinghamshire since 1996. Forty-five grey heron carcases were examined, 35 from the Besthorpe colony and 10 from other colonies where bone disease was not known to occur. On the basis of the results of radiological studies, postmortem examinations, peripheral quantitative computed tomography scanning and four-point bending tests, it was concluded that the skeletal abnormalities were probably due to metabolic bone disease.
Related Concept Videos
01:09Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age
Initially, the limb buds consist of a core of mesenchyme covered by a layer of ectoderm. The ectoderm at the end of the limb bud thickens to form a narrow crest called the apical ectodermal ridge. This ridge stimulates the underlying...
02:07Conservation of Declining Populations
01:29Bone Disorders
Bone deposition is also affected by the levels of sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone that promote osteoblast activity and bone matrix synthesis. When the level of these hormones decreases due to aging, it causes a reduction in bone deposition. As a result, bone resorption by osteoclasts...