Cytomorphometry of osteoclasts.

Tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) is considered as an enzyme marker for osteoclasts and their precursors. A cytomorphometric study of the osteoclastic population was made after TRAP staining on transiliac bone biopsies from 10 human volunteers, and the diameter of each TRAP positive profile was determined with an automatic image analyser. The frequency distribution of the cell diameter followed a lognormal law. TRAP positive cells along bone trabeculae belong to a homogeneous osteoclastic population.