Microarchitectural and physical changes during fetal growth in human vertebral bone.
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.
Nuzzo
S
S
ESRF, Grenoble, France.
Meneghini
C
C
Braillon
P
P
Bouvier
R
R
Mobilio
S
S
Peyrin
F
F
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
D017886:Durapatite