Fig 4. Effects of orchiectomy on biomechanical changes of trabecular bone.

Male Wistar rats were subjected to sham operation or orchiectomy. Four weeks after surgery, animals from the sham and orchiectomy groups were sacrificed, and their tibias were collected for analysis of a reduced-platen-compression test. The upper cortical shell of a tibia was removed to expose the trabecular region. A reduced-area platen was used to compress the central area of trabecular bone in the proximal tibia. The compression load and displacement of the tibia were recorded. Representative load-displacement curves in sham and orchiectomized rats are presented (A). Arrows indicate the maximum loading force. Values of these mechanistic parameters, including the maximum loading force (B), displacement at the maximum load (C), energy at the maximum load (D), and ultimate stress (E), were calculated and statistically analyzed. Each value represents the mean ± SD of three independent determinations * Indicates that the value significantly (p < 0.05) differed from the sham group.