Three-dimensional structure of minipig fibrolamellar bone: adaptation to axial loading

Fibrolamellar bone is transiently produced by large, fast growing mammals. The fibrolamellar bone unit is initially formed by elaboration of a network of blood vessels. This is followed by the deposition of a thin, porous and hypercalcified layer, then by the infilling of the vascular cavities by the sequential deposition of a relatively thick rapidly forming bone on both sides of the hypercalcified layer, and finally by lamellar bone. We investigated the 3D structure of the collagenous network of fibrolamellar bone from the femora of a young minipig using mainly the FIB-SEM dual beam microscope and the Serial Surface View method. This enabled us to identify the fibril orientation, the canalicular network organization and other structural motifs within each element of the fibrolamellar unit. The first formed primary hypercalcified layer (PHL) is composed of fibril arrays and multiple small pores, and appears to have an isotropic structure. The major bone component is deposited on both sides of the PHL, and is composed of collagen fibrils with a preferred orientation, mainly aligned parallel to the bone long axis. This bone component is therefore parallel-fibered bone and not woven bone. We also observed that the collagen fibers are organized into bundles. The lamellar bone has most of its collagen fibrils aligned with the bone long axis. This study therefore shows that the large majority of collagen fibrils in fibrolamellar bone are aligned with the bone long axis. This anisotropic structure therefore appears to be adapted to loading along the bone long axis.