title: Microarchitectural and physical changes during fetal growth in human vertebral bone.
abstract: The ossification process in human vertebra during the early stage of its formation was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray microtomography (microCT) at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, France. Twenty-two samples taken from vertebral ossification centers of human fetal bone (gestational age ranging between 16 and 26 weeks) were investigated. The analysis of three-dimensional images at high spatial resolution (approximately 10 and approximately 2 microm) allows a detailed quantitative description of bone microarchitecture. A denser trabecular network was found in fetal bone compared with that of adult bone. The images evidenced a global isotropic structure clearly composed of two regions: a central region (trabecular bone) and a peripheral region (immature bone). XRD experiments evidenced hydroxyapatite-like crystalline structure in the mineral phase at any fetal age after 16 weeks. Interestingly, the analysis of XRD patterns highlighted the evolution of crystalline structure of mineralized bone as a function of age involving the growth of the hydroxyapatite crystallites.
authors.affiliation: ESRF, Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nuzzo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meneghini
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Braillon
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bouvier
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mobilio
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Peyrin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015519:Bone Density; D001846:Bone Development; D017886:Durapatite / Q000378:metabolism; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D010012:Osteogenesis; D013131:Spine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017356:Synchrotrons; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D017886:Durapatite