Inhibition of bone formation during space flight.

Parameters of bone formation and resorption were measured in rats orbited for 19.5 days aboard the Soviet Cosmos 782 biological satellite. The most striking effects were on bone formation. During flight, rats formed significantly less periosteal bone than did control rats on the ground. An arrest line at both the periosteum and the endosteum of flight animals suggest that a complete cessation of bone growth occurred. During a 26-day postflight period, the defect in bone formation was corrected. No significant changes in bone resorption were observed.