Femoral strength after induced lesions in rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Rats are a common model for the study of bone healing, with the cranium, femur, and tibia being the bones studied most frequently. This study examines noncritical-sized lesions that would allow rats to continue to bear weight without the need for fixation but that are sufficiently large to enable characterization of the healing process. We compared the femoral bone strength associated with 3 lesion sizes selected for use in future studies. Sprague-Dawley rats (age, 10 to 16 wk) were used to assess the ultimate breaking strength, stress, and break force of normal, unmanipulated femurs. We then created lesions of 3 different sizes in the mid- to distal diaphysis of the left and right femurs and characterized the associated decreases in bone strength. Femurs (n = 85) for this study were collected through tissue sharing from rats used in other acute surgical procedures and were tested by using a 3-point bending flexural materials-testing machine. Our hypothesis was that, as a model for bone healing, 3 induced lesions of different sizes would show incremental and proportional decreases in femoral strength, with the intermediate-sized (1.5-mm) lesion demonstrating a decrease of 20% to 40%. A lesion of 1.5 mm yielded a decrease in strength of 17% for both the left and right femurs. The strength of left femurs carrying intermediate lesions was significantly less than that of control, uninjured femur bones. In addition to providing validation for our own future bone-healing project, these data are a useful baseline for other investigators studying bone healing in a rat femur model.