Changes in composition and metabolic activity of the skeletal parts of the extremity of the adult rat following resection of the sciatic nerve.

Resection of the sciatic nerve in adult male rats resulted in characteristic changes of the bone mass and the percentage composition of the tibia and the femur of the denervated leg. These changes were studied for a period of 1 to 16 weeks after the denervation. The tibia of the denervated leg underwent a significant decrease in bone mass, a significant increase of its percentage water and organic contents, and a significant decrease of its percentage ash content. The specific activity of the tibia showed irregular development with no significant slope. The femur of the denervated leg also underwent a significant decrease in bone mass and a significant decrease of its percentage ash content, while differences in percentage water and organic contents showed no significant slope. The specific activity of the femur showed a positive linear regression with negative values initially and positive at the end of the experiment.