Скачать или смотреть 3D micron-scale imaging of healthy compact bone

Human compact bone is an intricate network of layered, mineralized cylinders called osteons. Because of the dynamic nature of bone remodeling, each osteon has a unique "tissue age" or level of mineralization, and this gives rise to differences in X-ray absorption. At the center of each osteon is a blood vessel called a Haversian canal (shown in red), which provides nutrients to the tissue and bone cells (shown in yellow). The alignment of the osteons and canal network has a large effect on the strength of bone. At the Advanced Light Source microtomography beamline (ALS 8.3.2), we are studying how disorders such as brittle bone disease affect properties of the canal network such as pore size, alignment, and connectivity. We hope to use this information to better understand the mechanisms behind fragility in these disorders.