Table 1.
The micromorphometric variables and their abbreviations, definitions, and measurement units assessed in this study [27].
| Variable | Abbreviation | Description | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent bone volume | BV/TV | Relative volume of calcified tissue in the region of interest. | % |
| Bone surface/volume ratio | BS/TV | Segmented bone surface divided by the total volume of the region of interest. | µm2/µm3 |
| Trabecular thickness | Tb.Th | Mean thickness of trabeculae, calculated using direct 3D methods. | µm |
| Trabecular separation | Tb.Sp | Mean spacing between trabeculae, calculated using direct 3D methods. | µm |
| Trabecular bone pattern factor | Tb.Pf | Indicator of the spatial structure of bone. Relation between convex and concave elements. Tb.Pf < 0 when the trabecular bone is honeycomb-like and increases as the trabecular bone acquires a rod-like structure. | 1/µm |
| Structure model index | SMI | Estimates the geometry of trabecular bone structure, with 0 for perfect plates, 3 for perfect rods, and 4 for perfect spheres | none |
| Total porosity (percent) | Po(tot) | The volume of pores within the trabecular structure as a percentage of the total VOI. | % |
| Connectivity | Conn. | It measures redundant connectivity, the degree to which parts of the object are multiply connected. It calculates the number of connections that can be severed before the structure can be divided into two separate pieces. | none |