[Animal models for bone and joint disease. Assessment of bone mass, structure and strength in rat and mouse models -...

In the assessment of quality of bone in animal models, it is required to know the differences in bone mineral density, bone structure and strength from the human bones. "Guidelines for Assessment of Bone Microstructure in Rodents Using Micro-Computed Tomography" has been published (2010 JBMR). For a good use of micro-CT for animal studies, the important items are explained in this article, (1) Imaging acquisition : sample preparation and positioning, X-ray scan conditions, voxel size/image resolution, region of interest (2) Image processing : filtration, segmentation (3) Terminology and algorithm of trabecular (bone volume fraction, trabecular number/thickness/separation, structure model index, connectivity, degree of anisotropy) and cortical (cross-sectional area, cortical thickness) bone morphometry.