The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 66, Issue 8 1289-1293, Copyright © 1984 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
Mineral parameters in early fracture repair
JM Lane, F Betts, AS Posner and DW Yue
In an effort to define and characterize the initial mineralization product
of fracture-healing, we studied the mineral components within a model of
endochondral osseous repair. Fracture calluses from the tibiae of rats and
rabbits undergoing endochondral fracture-healing were analyzed, in toto and
following density fractionation, by physicochemical and crystallographic
techniques. Significant changes in mineral composition, crystal size, and
density occurred in the early phases of fracture repair. In the rat, two
weeks after fracture, the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio was higher than that
of the mineral component, possibly due to calcium-binding to some of the
macromolecules known to be present. The earliest mineral was poorly
crystallized hydroxyapatite with a high carbonate content. Crystal
perfection improved rapidly and approached that of normal diaphyseal bone
within eight weeks after endochondral fracture in both the rabbit and the
rat.