Table 3.
Primary Measurements in Bone Histomorphometry
| Abbreviations
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of measurement | Name of measurement | 3D | 2D |
| Area | Bone volumea | BV | B.Ar |
| Osteoid volume | OV | O.Ar | |
| Mineralized volume | Md.V | Md.Ar | |
| Void volume | Vd.V | Vd.Ar | |
| Marrow volume | Ma.V | Ma.Ar | |
| Fibrosis volume | Fb.V | Fb.Ar | |
| Canal volumeb | Ca.V | Ca.Ar | |
| Cell volumeb,c | Ce.V | Ce.Ar | |
| Cytoplasmic volumeb,d | Cy.V | Cy.Ar | |
| Nuclear volumeb,d | Nc.V | Nc.Ar | |
| Length | Bone interfacee | BI | B.Bd |
| Bone surfacef | BS | B.Pm | |
| Osteoid surface | OS | O.Pm | |
| Eroded surface | ES | E.Pm | |
| Quiescent surfaceg | QS | Q.Pm | |
| Mineralized surfaceh | Md.S | Md.Pm | |
| Osteoblast surface | Ob.S | Ob.Pm | |
| Single-labeled surfacei | sLS | sL.Pm | |
| Double-labeled surfacei | dLS | dL.Pm | |
| Osteoclast surface | Oc.S | Oc.Pm | |
| Reversal surfacej | Rv.S | Rv.Pm | |
| Distancek | Cortical thicknessl | Ct.Th | Ct.Wi |
| Wall thickness | W.Th | W.Wi | |
| Mineralized thickness | Md.Th | Md.Wi | |
| Osteoid thickness | O.Th | O.Wi | |
| Label thickness | L.Th | L.Wi | |
| Trabecular thicknessm | Tb.Th | Tb.Wi | |
| Interstitial thickness | It.Th | It.Wi | |
| Trabecular diametern | Tb.Dm | —o | |
| Canal radius | Ca.Rd | —o | |
| Cell heightc | Ce.Ht | —o | |
| Nuclear heightd | Nc.Ht | —o | |
| Erosion depth | E.De | —o | |
| Numberp | Osteoblast number | — | N.Ob |
| Osteoclast number | — | N.Oc | |
| Osteocyte number | — | N.Ot | |
| Adipocyte number | — | N.Ad | |
| Nuclear numberd | — | N.Nc | |
| Canal number | — | N.Ca | |
| Seam number | — | N.Sm | |
| Erosion number | — | NE | |
| Profile number | — | N.Pf | |
Area in 2D.
Potential confusion between tissue aggregates and individual structures; see text.
Specify cell type if needed, eg, Oc.V or Oc.Ar.
Qualify by cell type if needed, eg, Oc.Nc.V.
Boundary in 2D.
Perimeter in 2D.
BS – (OS + ES).
ES + QS.
Alternative terms are single- (or double-) labeled interface (sLI, dLI).
ES – Oc.S.
Between points or lines.
Width in 2D; for the cortex, width and thickness are numerically equal, but for other measurements, thickness = width divided by 4/π or by 1.2.
Assumes that trabeculae are thin plates;(54) = 2/(BS/BV).
Assumes that trabeculae are cylindrical rods;(58) = 4/(BS/BV).
No unique corresponding term in 2D.
No 3D equivalent by standard methods; with appropriate referent could be referred to as density. For further details, see text.