Stafford H, Oni O O, Hay J, Gregg P J
University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Glenfield General Hospital, Leicester, England.
J Orthop Trauma. 1992;6(2):190-4. doi: 10.1097/00005131-199206000-00010.
The extraosseous tissue contribution to diaphyseal fracture callus has been investigated using a rabbit tibial fracture model and osteocalcin immunocytochemistry. The extraosseous tissues were isolated for study by reaming and nailing an osteotomy and excising 2 cm of periosteum on either side of the osteotomy. Specimens obtained from the healing fractures at 1 and 2 weeks after operation, respectively, were decalcified and stained for osteocalcin, a bone-specific protein, using an indirect immunoperoxidase method. The positively stained osteogenic cells appeared to be derived exclusively from the remnant of the periosteum.