The effect of blood flow on the material properties of bone.

This project was undertaken to establish if the integral circulation had any effects upon the mechanical behavior of bone. The influence of blood flow in the rabbit tibia on the strain induced at the bone surface when under load was assessed. Recordings were taken from three adult and three immature New Zealand White rabbits which had previously had both their tibiae pinned with modified orthopedic pins. Strain readings were obtained from the exposed mid-shaft of the tibia of both hind legs before, during and after blood flow changes. The loading was static and used to maintain a strain of 250 mu strain in adult animals and 180 mu strain in immature animals prior to variation in blood flow. The blood flow was altered by means of a tourniquet inflated to 80 mm Hg and placed medial to the pinned tibia; it was inflated for a specific time (approximately 40 minutes) during the experimental loading. Reducing the blood flow appeared to alter the strain recorded at the bone surface while the applied load across the pins remained constant. An initial effect when there was reduced perfusion was that the strain increased following a reduction in blood flow. The strain then began to decrease in magnitude on the compressive aspect coincident with release of the cuff to a level below the value of the initial normally perfused bone. Upon return of the blood supply to normal levels following the initial hyperaemic phase, the strain value increased to a value comparable with that of normally perfused bone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)