Effects of simulated increases in body weight on the growth of limb bones in hypophysectomized rats

The purpose of this study was to subject groups of hypophysectomized male and female rats each to a simulated specific 10% increase in body weight, to a maximum of a doubling of body weight, in order to study the effects of quantified, increased, intermittent, compressive forces on limb bone growth. Chronic centrifugation was employed. 21-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were used. After 60 days of centrifugation, the rats were sacrificed. The humerus, radius, ulna, femur and tibia were removed from each animal, cleared of all soft tissues, and the bone lengths measured on Helios calipers with an accuracy of 1/20 mm. The data were corrected for differences due to individual body weight by dividing bone lengths by the cube root of the body weight of the same animal. Tukey's studentized multiple-range test was performed to identify aggregations (sets) of force groups between which there are significant differences. The data suggest that the simulated increases in body weight, within the range used for this study, enhance bone growth in hypophysectomized female and male rats similarly - hypophysectomy being a condition known to inhibit bone growth.