Densitometric Analysis of the Human Ulna

Abstract

SUMMARY: This study describes the distribution of the normal bone mass in the mature human ulna, as knowledge of distribution may provide information to orthopaedic surgeons for the treatment of such fractures while advancing the understanding of the responses of osteosynthesis elements during bone repair. A random sample of 41 dry ulnas was studied with a DXA system using a Norland XR-26 densitometer. Two projections were performed, lateral and antero-posterior. In both projections five regions of interest (ROI) were selected: proximal (ROI 1), proximal-intermediate (ROI 2), intermediate (ROI 3), distal-intermediate (ROI 4) and distal (ROI 5). All statistical calculations were performed using Stat graphics Plus (version 5.1) and SPSS (version 15.0). Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) were calculated. Paired data were analysed using parametric Student t-Test to compare BMD and BMC in every region in both projections. DXA show that the higher BMD is in the proximal-intermediate region (ROI 2). The higher BMC is found in the proximal region (ROI 1). Lower BMD and BMC are found in the distal region (ROI 5). The total BMD shows significant statistical differences (p≤0.001), which indicates the heterogeneous nature of the distribution of bone mass in the studied bone. Bone densitometry, measured by the DXA technique, is useful for assessing trabecular architecture of the human ulna.

An Ethical, Cultural and Historical Background for Cemetery-Based Human Skeletal Reference Collections

“…These collections are comprised of unclaimed skeletonised remains exhumed from temporary/leased graves or cleared from temporary/leased secondary interments at local contemporary managed cemeteries in various cities. The amassing of cemetery-derived collections has not experienced significant changes in social views or in legislation, and a diverse group of old and more recent cemetery-based collections is now available in Portugal (Cardoso 2006;Cunha and Wasterlain 2007;Ferreira et al 2014;Cardoso and Marinho 2016;Escoval 2016), Spain (Pastor et al 1995;Rissech and Steadman 2011;Alemán et al 2012;Aguado-Henche et al 2015), Italy (Facchini et al 2006;Belcastro et al 2017;Carrara et al 2018;Cattaneo et al 2018), Greece (Eliopoulos et al 2007;Kranioti et al 2008;Kranioti et al 2011), France (Mennecier 2006), Belgium (Orban and Vandoome 2006), Switzerland (Lopreno 2006), Austria (Sjøvold 1995); Mexico (Valenzuela Jiménez 2007;Chi-Keb et al 2013), Colombia (Sanabria-Medina et al 2016), Brazil (Cunha et al 2018), Argentina (Bosio et al 2012;Salceda et al 2012) and Chile (Garrido-Varas et al 2014;O'Bright et al 2018).…”