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Review
. 2020 Jul;51(7):1439-1447.
doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2020.04.011. Epub 2020 Apr 18.

A comprehensive review of mouse diaphyseal femur fracture models

Zachary J Gunderson  1 , Zachery R Campbell  1 , Todd O McKinley  1 , Roman M Natoli  1 , Melissa A Kacena  2
Affiliations
Review

A comprehensive review of mouse diaphyseal femur fracture models

Zachary J Gunderson et al. Injury. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Complications related to treatment of long bone fractures still stand as a major challenge for orthopaedic surgeons. Elucidation of the mechanisms of bone healing and development, and the subsequent alteration of these mechanisms to improve outcomes, typically requires animal models as an intermediary between in vitro and human clinical studies. Murine models are some of the most commonly used in translational research, and mouse fracture models are particularly diverse, offering a wide variety of customization with distinct benefits and limitations depending on the study. This review critically examines three common femur fracture models in the mouse, namely cortical hole, 3-point fracture (Einhorn), and segmental bone defect. We lay out the general procedure for execution of each model, evaluate the practical implications and important advantages/disadvantages of each and describe recent innovations. Furthermore, we explore the applications that each model is best adapted for in the context of the current state of murine orthopaedic research.

Keywords: Animal models; Bone healing; Defect; Fracture; Mouse; Segmental defect.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Illustration of bone healing models in the murine femoral diaphysis: unicortical hole, bicortical hole. 3-point break, segmental defect with load sharing construct, and segmental defect without load sharing construct.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Illustration of fixation types for the segmental femoral defect: intramedullary (IM) nail, plate, pin-clip, and external fixator.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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