title: A rapid method for the assessment of bone architecture by confocal microscopy.
abstract: Conventional ways of demonstrating and analysing the components of osseous tissue have always been hampered by the difficulty of physically sectioning bone. In this study, we have used Acridine Orange staining of 100-micron-thick unembedded bone slices and then assessed the cellular and tissue architecture by confocal microscopy. The result showed the Acridine Orange, by differential staining of the cellular nucleic acids, permits ready assessment of cell shape and cell organization as well as variations in growth patterns. Our studies have provided a new and relatively easy way of assessing the morphology of bone specimens by rendering unnecessary the need for embedding, decalcification and thin sectioning of the osseous tissue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Bruining
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cody
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brankov
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Papadimitriou
mesh_terms: D000165:Acridine Orange; D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D012756:Sheep
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D000165:Acridine Orange