Development and characterization of a new model of hematogenous osteomyelitis in the rat

Hematogenous osteomyelitis was produced in the tibia or the mandible of rats by drilling a hole into the bone, injecting sodium morrhuate, and inoculating Staphylococcus aureus Phillips into the femoral vein. Animals were sacrificed after 2 weeks and examined. The infection was characterized grossly and radiographically by bone deformation, histopathologically by a characteristic suppurative reaction, and microbiologically by the recovery of S. aureus Phillips from the infected tissue. These findings indicate that the model mimics human osteomyelitis with respect to its inflammatory bone changes. In contrast to earlier rat models in which bacteria were injected directly into the bone, this new experimental model allows study of the initiating events of osteomyelitis such as bacterial attachment and might assist as a model for both prophylactic and therapeutic trials.