Hahn M, Vogel M, Pompesius-Kempa M, Delling G
Department of Bone Pathology/Center for Biomechanic UKE, University of Hamburg, Germany.
Bone. 1992;13(4):327-30. doi: 10.1016/8756-3282(92)90078-b.
The stability of trabecular bone depends not only on the amount of bone tissue, but also on the three-dimensional orientation and connectedness of trabeculae, which is summarized as trabecular microarchitecture. In previous studies we could demonstrate that in three-dimensional bone tissue the relation of trabecular plates to rods is reflected in the ratio of concave to convex surfaces of the bone pattern in two-dimensional bone sections. For the quantification of the connectedness of these bone patterns we developed a new histomorphometric parameter called Trabecular Bone Pattern factor (TBPf). The basic idea is that the connectedness of structures can be described by the relation of convex to concave surfaces. A lot of concave surfaces represent a well connected spongy lattice, whereas a lot of convex surfaces indicate a badly connected trabecular lattice in two-dimensional sections. By means of an automatic image analysis system we measure trabecular bone area (A1) and perimeter (P1). A second measurement of these two parameters (now A2 and P2) is done after a simulated dilatation of trabeculae on the screen. This dilatation results in a characteristic change of bone area and perimeter depending on the relation of convex to concave surfaces. TBPf is defined as a quotient of the difference of the first and the second measurement: TBPf = (P1 - P2)/(A1 - A2). First measurements of TBPf in 192 iliac crest bone biopsies of autopsy cases show that there is not only age-related loss of bone volume, but also a decrease of trabecular connectedness. By means of TBPf we can demonstrate a significant difference in the age-related loss of trabecular connectivity between male and female individuals.
小梁骨的稳定性不仅取决于骨组织的量，还取决于小梁的三维取向和连通性，这被总结为小梁微结构。在先前的研究中，我们可以证明，在三维骨组织中，小梁板与杆的关系反映在二维骨切片中骨模式的凹面与凸面的比例上。为了量化这些骨模式的连通性，我们开发了一种新的组织形态计量学参数，称为小梁骨模式因子（TBPf）。其基本思想是，结构的连通性可以通过凸面与凹面的关系来描述。在二维切片中，许多凹面代表一个连通良好的海绵状晶格，而许多凸面则表明小梁晶格连通性差。通过自动图像分析系统，我们测量小梁骨面积（A1）和周长（P1）。在屏幕上对小梁进行模拟扩张后，对这两个参数进行第二次测量（现在为A2和P2）。这种扩张会导致骨面积和周长根据凸面与凹面的关系发生特征性变化。TBPf定义为第一次测量值与第二次测量值之差的商：TBPf = (P1 - P2)/(A1 - A2)。对192例尸检病例的髂嵴骨活检进行的TBPf首次测量表明，不仅存在与年龄相关的骨量丢失，而且小梁连通性也有所下降。通过TBPf，我们可以证明男性和女性个体在与年龄相关的小梁连通性丧失方面存在显著差异。
