THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERATURE ON HEALING OF BONE LESIONS IN THE RAT. II. THE EFFECT OF BONE INJURY ON MINERAL METABOLISM AT 20° C. AND 30° C

¹ Department of Pathological Biochemistry, University of Glasgow, and Glasgow Royal Infirmary

Fracture of a radius in rats living at 20° C. and 300° C. leads to a greater whole-body retention by both groups of a tracer dose of ⁸⁵Sr injected at the time of fracture, compared to the whole-body retention found in isothermally housed uninjured controls. A simple small dental drill-hole lesion of the tibia resulted in an enhanced whole-body retention of tracer only in rats living at 300° C.

There is evidence of skeletal mobilization of calcium on fracture of a bone in rats at 20° C., but not in those at 30° C. However, there were no histologically observable differences in healing of bone lesions between the two groups of rats.

Note:

The senior author (D. P. C.) is in receipt of a Research Grant from the Medical Research Council to whom grateful acknowledgment is made. We are indebted to the Rankin Fund of the University of Glasgow for funds for the purchase of apparatus. We are also grateful for the facilities provided in this Department of the University of Glasgow in the Royal Infirmary and by the Board of Management of the Hospital, which were kindly made available by Professor H. G. Morgan.

Skilled technical assistance was received from Mrs. M. McArthur.

Isotope counting facilities were kindly provided by Professor E. M. McGirr in the Department of Medicine to whom we are most grateful.

We are also indebted to Dr. D. Murray of the Hospital Pathology Department for arranging the histology and his comments on the sections.