Abstract
Aim. The purpose of this study was to examine the symmetry of the mechanical and tomographic properties of the rat femur and tibia, frequently used in biomedical research.
Materials-Methods. For this purpose both femora and tibiae of 43 Wistar rats underwent tomographic (pQCT) evaluation while both femora and tibiae of 40 further Wistar rats were subjected to destructive three-point bending testing. The age of the animals ranged between 3 and 12 months and all were males.
Results. While there was significant variation between the structural and the biomechanical properties between different animals the differences between the femora and the tibiae of the same animal were not statistically significantly different in the majority of animals.
Conclusion. We conclude that in healthy, sexually mature Wistar rats, in the first year of their life, there is no significant diversity in terms of tomographic and biomechanical properties of their opposing posterior limb long bones.
The abstracts were prepared by Eleni Koutsoukou. Correspondence should be addressed to him at the Hellenic Association of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (HAOST), 20, A. Fleming str, 15123 Marousi, Athens, Greece.
