Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 15, 2026
Establishment and Evaluation of a Sheep Model of Full-thickness Osteochondral Defect
Published on: April 14, 2026
A new preclinical femoral head osteonecrosis model in sheep
Roberto Vélez1, Francisco Soldado, Alberto Hernández
1Tumor Unit, Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Pg Vall d'Hebron 129-139, 08035 Barcelona, Spain. robertovelez1@gmail.com
Introduction:
Animal models have been used as insight into the pathogenesis of osteonecrosis, even though most have failed to reproduce all stages of human disease, limiting progression in experimental treatment modalities. A new surgically induced animal model of femoral head osteonecrosis in sheep is presented.
Method:
Osteonecrosis was achieved using an improved method of intracephalic cryogenic lesion by means of a cryoprobe and vascular ligation.
Results:
Histologic findings at 6 and 12 weeks showed progression to advanced stage osteonecrosis. MRI, the gold standard in diagnosis and follow-up in human osteonecrosis showed concordant results with histology.
Conclusion:
Our model can therefore be used as a preclinical femoral head osteonecrosis model in an easily accessible animal to assess biological treatments with MRI.
