[Distribution of haversian remodeling in the human femur by an osteon count. A study of 6 femurs in cadavers].

To estimate the remodelling of diaphyseal compact bone in the femora of five subjects aged between 63 and 83 years, osteons and osteon fragments were counted. The measurements were made from microradiographs of transverse sections at all levels in the diaphysis. The ventral, dorsal, lateral and medial quadrants were considered separately. The mean osteon count was uniform in all quadrants and at all levels in the proximal two-thirds of the diaphysis, but tended to be less in the distal third. In addition, there were nearly always more osteons, complete and fragmented, per square millimetre in the subperitoneal region than in the neighbourhood of the medullary cavity. In older subjects, there does not seem to be a relationship between the remodelling of femoral compact bone and the specific mechanical stresses in each diaphyseal quadrant.