Anatomic Changes in the Macroscopic Morphology and Microarchitecture of Denervated Long Bone Tissue after Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Figure 8

Microstructural changes in the femur and tibia at day 63 after unloading because of SCI and reloading by weight bearing (SCI + PS) and muscle electrical stimulation (SCI + ES). Chronic SCI substantially increased bone resorption (asterisks) in both the tibia and the femur but was mainly reversed by both PS and ES (to a lesser degree). (SCI: spinal cord injury; PS: passive standing; ES: electrical stimulation). Images were captured with an augment of 50x, whence the growth plate was used as the anatomical landmark for the superior limit of the image.