Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
is known as shedding. Similar to bones, antlers contain pores and
can withstand applied stresses of over 300 mPa [762-766], which
is even higher than that of bones (Table 1.2). Therefore, antlers are
occasionally considered an almost unbreakable bone [561]. Each
antler grows from an attachment point on the skull called a pedicle.
While an antler is growing, it is covered with highly vascular skin
called velvet, which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the growing
bone. Once the antler has achieved its proper size, the velvet starts
to dry out, cracks and breaks of, while the antler's bone dies. Fully
developed antlers consist of dead bone only [767-776]. It was found
that food processing cannot supply the mineral needs required for
antler growth and thus, male deer must temporary resorb calcium
orthophosphate minerals from their own skeleton for antler growth
[777-779]. Detailed studies revealed that daily food intake provided
between 25 and 40% of calcium needed for antler mineralization,
which resulted in a temporary skeleton demineralization [778,
779]. Interestingly, but antlers may act as large hearing aids, namely,
moose with antlers have far more sensitive hearing than moose
without [780].
Figure 1.15
Red deer stag at velvet shedding. The bare bone of the hard
antlers is exposed. reprinted from ref. [760] with permission.
A good cross-sectional image of a deer antler is available in ref.
[584].
Antlers are a good model to study bone biology because they
are accessible, shed after mating season and cast every year [781].
However, people seldom come across the antlers in the woods.
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