title: Bone micro-architectural analysis of mandible and tibia in ovariectomised rats: A quantitative structural comparison between undecalcified histological sections and micro-CT.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to evaluate if micro-CT can work as a method for the 3D assessment and analysis of cancellous bone by comparing micro-CT with undecalcified histological sections in OVX rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  The mandible and tibia of sham, ovariectomised (OVX) and zoledronate-injected ovariectomised (OVX-ZOL) rats were assessed morphometrically. Specimens were scanned by micro-CT. Undecalcified histological sections were manufactured from the specimen scanned by micro-CT and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Bivariate linear regressions and one-way analysis of variance were undertaken for statistics using SPSS 16.0.1 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were highly significant correlations between undecalcified histological sections and micro-CT for all parameters (bone volume density (BV/TV), bone surface density (BS/BV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular number (Tb.N), and trabecular separation (Tb.Sp))in the mandible and tibia. Bone histomorphometric parameters analysed by both methods exhibited significant differences among sham, OVX, and OVX-ZOL groups. There were significant correlations between mandible and tibia in BV/TV, BS/BV, and Tb.Sp.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Micro-CT is a complementary tool to histological sections in basic research that could improve our understanding of bone histomorphometry. The mandible can be used as an effective site to assess bone morphometry of OVX or metabolic bone disease rat models.Cite this article: H. Liu, W. Li, Y. S. Liu, Y. S. Zhou. Bone micro-architectural analysis of mandible and tibia in ovariectomised rats: A quantitative structural comparison between undecalcified histological sections and micro-CT. Bone Joint Res 2016;5:253-262.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, The Core Laboratory, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, 22 Zhongguancun South Avenue, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, 22 Zhongguancun South Avenue, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, 22 Zhongguancun South Avenue, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, National Engineering Lab for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, 22 Zhongguancun South Avenue, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China kqzhouysh@hsc.pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Zhou
keywords: Bone histomorphometry; Mandible; Micro-CT; Tibia; Undecalcified histological sections