Microarchitectural and Physical Changes During Fetal Growth in Human Vertebral Bone

The ossification process in human vertebra during the early stage of its formation was studied by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and X‐ray microtomography (μCT) at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, France. Twenty‐two samples taken from vertebral ossification centers of human fetal bone (gestational age ranging between 16 and 26 weeks) were investigated. The analysis of three‐dimensional images at high spatial resolution (∼10 and ∼2 μm) allows a detailed quantitative description of bone microarchitecture. A denser trabecular network was found in fetal bone compared with that of adult bone. The images evidenced a global isotropic structure clearly composed of two regions: a central region (trabecular bone) and a peripheral region (immature bone). XRD experiments evidenced hydroxyapatite‐like crystalline structure in the mineral phase at any fetal age after 16 weeks. Interestingly, the analysis of XRD patterns highlighted the evolution of crystalline structure of mineralized bone as a function of age involving the growth of the hydroxyapatite crystallites.

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