[Dyslipidemia and hyperbaric osteonecrosis in the rat]

The authors subjected 149 adult Sprague-Dawley rats to repeated experimental dives, simulated to 160 m. Histopathological examination (femurs and tibias) revealed no evidence of osteonecrosis in either normal or dyslipidaemic animals. Study of the calcium metabolism using 45Ca revealed a significant drop in the levels of free and bound calcium and in the rate of exchange between the two compartments, in the dyslipidaemic animal placed in hyperbaric conditions.