TY - JOUR

T1 - The vascular collar of the ilium

AU - Cunningham, Craig A.

AU - Black, Sue M.

N1 - Copyright 2013 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2013/5

Y1 - 2013/5

N2 - Nutrient arteries are the predominant blood supply to endochondral bones and are particularly important during the early stages of endochondral ossification and the active growth period. These nutrient vessels traverse the periosteal shell of a developing bone to invade the disintegrating cartilage matrix and bring about endochondral bone formation. This results in the formation of a nutrient foramen which is retained as the vascular conduit between the exterior and interior of the bone. This study examined the dominant nutrient foramen of the neonatal ilium using high resolution micro-computed (micro-CT) tomography. Three-dimensional reconstruction of micro-CT data consistently demonstrated the presence of a distinctive, yet poorly reported, collar of bone extending into the trabecular cavity beyond the endosteum. This study proposes that this collar of bone may have formed in response to osteogenic signaling from approximated arterial vasculature. Additionally, it is suggested that the formation of this collar may act as a protective mechanism to the dominant nutrient vessel and as a potential biomechanical anchor for surrounding trabeculae, aiding to increase the biomechanical competency around the area of the foramen. The documentation of this osteological structure is important from a clinical perspective to prevent the misinterpretation of fracturing and pathology on plain plate radiographs and clinical computed tomography scans.

AB - Nutrient arteries are the predominant blood supply to endochondral bones and are particularly important during the early stages of endochondral ossification and the active growth period. These nutrient vessels traverse the periosteal shell of a developing bone to invade the disintegrating cartilage matrix and bring about endochondral bone formation. This results in the formation of a nutrient foramen which is retained as the vascular conduit between the exterior and interior of the bone. This study examined the dominant nutrient foramen of the neonatal ilium using high resolution micro-computed (micro-CT) tomography. Three-dimensional reconstruction of micro-CT data consistently demonstrated the presence of a distinctive, yet poorly reported, collar of bone extending into the trabecular cavity beyond the endosteum. This study proposes that this collar of bone may have formed in response to osteogenic signaling from approximated arterial vasculature. Additionally, it is suggested that the formation of this collar may act as a protective mechanism to the dominant nutrient vessel and as a potential biomechanical anchor for surrounding trabeculae, aiding to increase the biomechanical competency around the area of the foramen. The documentation of this osteological structure is important from a clinical perspective to prevent the misinterpretation of fracturing and pathology on plain plate radiographs and clinical computed tomography scans.

KW - Vasculature

KW - MicroCT

KW - trabeulae

KW - Juvenile

KW - Bone

U2 - 10.1002/ca.22213

DO - 10.1002/ca.22213

M3 - Journal article

VL - 26

SP - 502

EP - 508

JO - Clinical Anatomy

JF - Clinical Anatomy

SN - 0897-3806

IS - 4

ER -