Regional Heterogeneity in the Configuration of the Intracortical Canals of the Femoral Shaft

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) characterization of cortical porosity, most of which is under 100 µm in diameter, is usually confined to measurements made in 3–4 mm diameter cylinders of bone. We used micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning of entire transaxial cross sections of human proximal femoral shafts (30–35 mm diameter) to quantify regional variation in porosity within the same scan. Complete, up to 10-mm-thick, transaxial slices of femoral upper shafts from 8 female cadavers were studied (n = 3 aged 29–37 years, n = 5 aged 72–90 years). Scanning was performed using high-resolution micro-CT (8.65 µm/voxel). Micro-CT volumes (10 × 10 × 5 mm) were selected via software in the anterior, me..