Pre-contrast (A, B) and post-contrast (C, D) CE-MRI of the 8th and 9th caudal vertebrae of representative 2-month-old WT (A, C) and TNF-Tg (B, D) mice were obtained at the indicated time following instrumentation with the customized external fixation device loaded to 6X body weight. (C) The NMCE values from the loaded tails (6X) and instrumented unloaded controls (0X) at each time point were quantified, and the data are presented as the mean +/− SD for each group (n=5) (# p<0.05 vs. WT 0X at each time point; *p<0.05 vs. WT 6X week 0); Δ p< 0.05 vs. WT 6X week 0. Mice were 8 weeks old at week 0 and sacrificed at 16 weeks of age. Note that the values from TNF-Tg mice were not significantly different from baseline at any time point.