Imaging and quantitative assessment of long bone vascularization in the adult rat using microcomputed tomography.

The objective of this study was to develop and validate a technique for both 3D imaging and quantification of the vascular network of bone tissue in the rat. Five month-old male Wistar rats were divided into tail-suspension (21 days) and control groups. Sixty percent barium sulfate solution was infused into the vena cava. The tibiae were evaluated in 2D and 3D before and after decalcification, using conventional microcomputerized tomography (μCT) at 10 and 5 μm resolution and synchrotron radiation (SR) μCT. The perfusion technique and tomography exhibited excellent bone vasculature imaging. Significant positive correlations were observed between 2D histomorphometric and 3D μCT vascular parameters (P < 0.05). 3DμCT discriminated significant changes of vessel structures in unloading condition: vessel number decreased by 25%, (P < 0.005), vessel separation increased by 27%, P < 0.01. SRμCT could image sinusoid clusters in bone. μCT is an accurate and reproducible technique for 3D quantitative evaluation of long bone vascularisation in the rat. Anat Rec, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.