A comparative radioautographic study of chondrocytic proliferation in nasal septal cartilage of the 5-day-old rat, rabbit, guinea pig and beagle.

Growth sites within the cartilaginous nasal septa of four different species of animals (5-day-old rats, rabbits, guinea pigs and beagles) were identified by monitoring cellular proliferation radioautographically. A statistical analysis (MANOVA) was employed. It showed that, of the six combinations compared (rat-beagle, rat-guinea pig, rat-rabbit, beagle-guinea pig, beagle-rabbit, and guinea pig-rabbit), in only one (beagle-guinea pig) was there any similarity in growth pattern. The other five combinations all were significantly different. Since no particular areas emerged, with any consistency, as common growth sites within any of the four kinds of septa, it was concluded that the nasal septum might well play a passive role in midfacial growth, rather than an active role as previously thought.