Objective: To analyze the role of periosteum in guided bone regeneration by means of undecalcified sections and X-ray films.
Method: 10 mm long segmental defects were created in the diaphyses of both radii in 24 New Zealand rabbits. The defect on the control side was covered with a silicone membrane shaped as a tube. On the experimental side, 10 mm periosteum of both sides of the defect was stripped and the defect was covered with a silicone tube. The animals were killed at the 3rd day and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 10th, 12th weeks. Samples were treated for radiologic and histologic examinations.
Result: (1) periosteal stripping exerts no effect on callus formation in or out of the tube. (2) osteoblasts in the cambium layer of the periosteum come from bone surface, endosteum or the Haversian envelopes. (3) the tissue in the two layers of the periosteum has different origins, the fibrous layer comes from soft tissue and osteoblasts in the cambium from bone surface or Haversian envelopes.
Conclusion: Stripping periosteum has no influence on bone formation in guided tissue regeneration.