| This thesis describes an animal model for studying reperfusion injury in situ in the tibia of a rabbit. A titanium optical bone chamber implanted in the tibia of the rabbit is utilized in conjunction with inflatable vascular occluders implanted at the common iliac artery of the rabbit. The bone chamber forms the observation window, and the occluders are the input flow control of this model. The optical bone chamber permits the monitoring of local microcirculation and bone growth, and the vascular occluders allow remote control of arterial blood supply to the right hind limb where the chamber is implanted. This model provides a tool for studying (1) the immediate impact of ischemia, and reperfusion on microcirculation in bone, and (2) the long term consequences of ischemia and reperfusion injury on bone remodeling. |
