Determination of callus quantity in 4-week-old fractures of the rat tibia.

In clinical practice the quantity of fracture callus is usually estimated on the basis of radiographs. In experimental studies on fracture healing, more exact chemical measurements (total protein, DNA, and mineral contents) have been used to quantitate the amount of callus. It is not known, however, how these two parameters correlate with each other. In this study we used different (radiographic, histomorphometric, and chemical) methods to evaluate the quantity of fracture callus in 4-week-old tibial fractures of rats stabilized by intramedullary nailing. The wet and dry weights and the nitrogen, collagen, calcium, phosphorus, and DNA contents of the calluses showed no correlation with the radiographic size of the calluses. There was a strong correlation (p less than 0.001), however, between radiographic and histomorphometric callus sizes. The mass of callus and the chemically defined parameters of callus production thus indicate different properties of the healing bone.