Technique for Dissection and Measurement of Refractive Index of Osteones

I t is known that a continuous process takes place in bone whereby mature osteones (Haversian systems) are broken down and new osteones are formed. Historadiographic study has shown that the mineral salts content of osteones increases gradually toward a maximum (1, 2, 8). In order to obtain information on the chemical and physical properties of the growing osteone, we have developed a dissection technique for isolating single osteone units.