The structural adaptation of bone around a cortical defect

Bone remodeling about a circular defect was evaluated by measuring the elastic properties of cortical bone with scanning acoustic microscopy. The defects were filled with either a void or rigid inclusion to create various states of stress in the vicinity of the defect. The remodeling observed after 6 months of implantation was of new bone formation on periosteal and endosteal surfaces about the defect region, effectively reducing the magnitude of stress concentration about the defect. There was no difference in the remodeling of bone about void and rigid inclusions. Both provoked significant degrees of surface remodeling that changed the basic structure of the bone cross-section at the level of the defect.<>