Evaluation of substitutes for bone: comparison of microradiographic and histological assessments.

We created defects of standard size in the frontal bones of adult pigs and filled them with four different materials. On six occasions (at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 26 weeks), samples were harvested, and evaluated by computing microradiographic images. We examined the specimens histologically as controls. After insertion of anorganic materials, microradiographic evaluation was easy and precise, and there were no significant differences between them and the histological controls (p=0.2). A quantitative evaluation of chemically sterilised bone by computer was not possible for more than 4 weeks.