title: Trabecular bone does not have a fractal structure on light microscopic examination.
abstract: The fractal dimension of the boundary of trabecular bone in 62 biopsies was measured on histological sections using a box-counting method implemented on a microcomputer image analysis system. The calculated fractal dimension had a mean value of 0.99 with a normal distribution. Since this value is not greater than the topological dimension, trabecular bone, when examined by light microscopy, does not have a fractal structure. Conventional Euclidean dimensions will continue to be the most useful measurements in bone histomorphometry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Sheffield Medical School, U.K.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Silcocks
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Cotton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D017709:Fractals; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged