Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 22, 2026
Outer-Boundary Assisted Segmentation and Quantification of Trabecular Bones by an Imagej Plugin
Published on: March 14, 2018
Assessment of mandibular trabecular structure and cervical vertebral maturation using fractal analysis
Zeynep Çoban Büyükbayraktar1, İlknur Eninanç2
1Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey.
Background:
Changes in bone trabeculae occur during skeletal maturation. Fractal analysis is a technique for assessing changes in the internal structure of the bone.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to investigate correlation of bone trabeculation measured on panoramic and lateral cephalometric radiographs with cervical vertebral maturation stages (CVMS).
Methods:
CVMS was evaluated on lateral cephalometric radiographs of 120 individuals aged 6 to 18 years. The subjects were divided into 6 groups (n= 20 each) according to CVMS. On panoramic and lateral cephalometric radiographs, fractal dimension (FD) analyses were performed in mandibular corpus, gonial and condylar regions and cervical vertebral bodies (C2, C3, C4).
Results:
FD measurements from the mandibular corpus region bilaterally and C2-C4 vertebral bodies showed significant positive correlations with CVMS (r= 0.418, r= 0.412, r= 0.324, r= 0.304, r= 0.263, respectively). Significant differences were found in the FD values of the right/left mandibular corpus and C2 and C3 vertebrae compared to CVMS (P< 0.001, P< 0.001, P= 0.005, P= 0.019, respectively).
Conclusion:
Significant positive moderate correlations between the FD values of the right and left mandibular corpus and CVMS suggest that fractal analysis may be useful in determining skeletal maturity stage. The significant FD values obtained from the right/left mandibular corpus, and C2 and C3 vertebra indicate that the complexity of the internal trabecular structure increases with maturation.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
01:16Vertebral Column: Regions and Curvature
Regions of the Vertebral Column
In an adult, the spine is subdivided into five regions: the cervical, the thoracic, the lumbar, the sacral, and the coccygeal region. The spine initially develops as a series of 33 vertebrae; after 20 years of age, the nine bones in the sacral region, five sacral, and four coccygeal bones fuse to form the...
01:30General Structure of a Vertebra
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...
01:16Spinal Cord: Cross-sectional Anatomy
Gray Matter and its Components
Central to the gray matter is...