Bone tissue kinetics in the surgically disarticulated dog incus

The incus of the right ear from 4 growing mongrel dogs was surgically disarticulated and left in the middle ear space. The external auditory canal was then filled with teflon paste and sutured. After 6 weeks (D-6 group) and 13 weeks (D-13 group) the animals were sacrificed. The right experimental incus and the left control one were embedded in methyl methacrylate and sectioned in single 50-microns-thick sections according to the principal axis of the two processes. On the microradiographs of each section we evaluated the thickness of the body and of both processes and the percentage area of the primary channels of the secondary osteons and that of the appositional bone tissue. The thickness of the body and of the two processes was more pronounced in all the experimental incuses, in which 6% (in D-6) and 8% (in D-13) of the total area were occupied by new appositional woven bone. In the body of the D-13 group, 9% of the pre-existing bone was substituted by secondary osteons. The results indicate that the incus react to the variations of mechanical stimuli.