The rat as an animal model for the study of senile idiopathic osteoporosis.

Bone robustness of the major limb bones of 2-year-old and 3-year-old male Sprague-Dawley rats was determined and compared to that of 3-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. The results were compared to the published data on two different breeds of laboratory rats to ascertain if the laboratory rat is an appropriate animal model for the study of senile idiopathic osteoporosis in humans. The results show that the limb bone that becomes the most osteoporotic is the male Sprague-Dawley tibia. If one were selecting for the most appropriate breed of rat, it would be the Buffalo rat.