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Effect of Femoral Nutrient Artery Ligature on Radionuclide Uptake in Rabbits

Address correspondence to Xiaofeng Zeng, M.D., Department of Orthopaedics, Jinling Hospital, 305 East Zhongshan Rd., Nanjing 210002, People’s Republic of China; tel 86 25 8481 7280; fax 86 25 8454 7309; e-mail: zengxiaofeng{at}msn.com.

To elucidate the effect of damaging the nutrient artery to a long bone, we used radionuclide imaging to survey the change of femoral blood supply after ligating the nutrient artery in rabbits. The radionuclide uptake of the femoral shaft, upper and lower metaphysis, and epiphysis decreased significantly at 1 hr postoperation (0.66, 0.74, 0.81, respectively, p <0.05), were close to normal on day 4 (0.96, 0.98, 1.02, respectively, p >0.05), slightly exceeded the contralateral level at 9 and 12 days, and returned to normal on day 16. This study shows that ligation of the nutrient artery of a long bone leads to an immediate decrease in the bone blood flow. However, so long as anastomoses among other bone vessels are intact, the recovery rate is speedy, and long-term, serious disorders of the bone blood supply do not ensue.

Keywords: nutrient artery, femoral blood supply, radionuclide imaging, long bone vasculature