A novel model of inducing chronic osteomyelitis in rabbits

Osteomyelitis is one of common diseases in Iran due to trauma، especially during war time. There is a variety of treatment methods for osteomyelitis. In this study we have tried to design a new animal model which is similar to human disease for future use as a standard model through studies. staphylococcus aureus was used to induce osteomyelitis in 24 rabbits’ tibia. We performed radiologic assessments on days 0، 14 and 28 after surgery. Bacteriologic studies and pathologic assessment were done on the 28th day too. At the end of 4th week، more than 95% of animals showed radiologic signs of osteomyelitis. In pathological studies، invasion of inflammatory cells and other signs of osteomyelitis were seen. This modeling method can be used for study of osteomyelitis whereby comparing different antibiotics or scaffolds and stem cells.