Morphological Changes in the Femur in Experimental Osteomyelitis in Rabbits

This article is devoted to the study of the dynamics of histological changes in experimental osteomyelitis of the femur in rabbits. The aim of the study is to study the dynamics and nature of morphological changes in bone tissue and bone marrow of the femur at different stages of experimentally induced osteomyelitis in rabbits. Material and methods. The experiment was performed on 18 Soviet Chinchilla rabbits. Osteomyelitis was modeled by intraosseous administration of a suspension of Staphylococcus aureus at a concentration of  1×10⁸ CFU/ml into the distal metaphysis of the femur. The control group of animals received an injection of sterile saline. Animals were withdrawn from the experiment on days 3, 7 and 14. Light microscopy of histological sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin, as well as according to van Gieson, was used for morphological examination. Results. It was established that osteomyelitis develops in stages. On the 3rd day, a picture of acute serous-purulent inflammation of the bone marrow with massive neutrophilic infiltration, vascular thrombosis and initial signs of necrosis of the bone trabeculae was observed. By the 7th day, the inflammation acquired a purulent-destructive character with the formation of abscesses, bone tissue sequesters and periosteal reaction. A sharp increase in the number of osteoclasts was noted. On the 14th day, the process passed into the chronic phase: the formation of a demarcation ridge of coarse-fibrous bone tissue surrounding the sequesters was noted. Active osteogenesis was combined with areas of destruction. Conclusion. The study demonstrates that the experimental model of osteomyelitis induced by the introduction of Staphylococcus aureus into the femur of rabbits reliably reproduces the key pathomorphological stages of the disease characteristic of humans (acute, destructive and chronic). The obtained data allow using this model for further study of osteomyelitis pathogenesis and preclinical evaluation of the effectiveness of new therapeutic methods.

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