Bone Histomorphometry and Undecalcified Sections

Abstract

Bone histomorphometry is a useful tool to understand the cellular and tissue levels of bone activities and to correlate the clinical symptoms for diagnostic and choice of remedy. Experience and training of a histomorphometrist, that usually take months to fully develop and to narrow the coefficient of variation, decide the reliability of the data. Expansion of collective histomorphometric data from cohorts of demographically matched subjects assists the revelation of the disease mechanisms. Although histomorphometric data are limited to represent a short period of bone surfaces cell activities from a focal defined sized biopsy, the reviewer’s knowledge and understanding on bone physiology is crucial to decipher them for accurate interpretations. Carefully chosen fluorochrome agents and properly administering them with a known interval aid the demonstration of temporal and spatial relationships of bone surface movement. Estimation on erosion depth in conjunction with the measurement on BMU wall thickness demonstrates the unit bone balance. Derivative estimation on BMU’s activation frequency from the bone formation activity parameters enlarges the scope of unit bone balance to examine the alterations in total bone mass. Inclusion of histomorphometric data to subject’s medical history and clinical observations on blood chemistry and radiodensitometry completes the evaluation for exploring and explaining subject’s clinical symptoms. Histomorphometric data from before and after the treatment regimens can facilitate development of new drugs for a specific disease.