This trial was performed in Wistar rats to evaluate bone integration of hydroxyapatite (HA) granules of different sizes (212 µm, 500 µm, and 1000 µm). The animals were divided into three experimental groups, that is, two groups of 15 animals and one group of 25 animals, which were killed, respectively, 30, 90 and 180 days after the implantation of the hydroxyapatite employed to fill the bone defects produced in the rats' femurs. Additionally, a control group included ten rats whose induced femur defects were not filled with HA. All animals were radiologically and histologically examined by light microscopy, in order to evaluate the bone tissue / hydroxyapatite interface. It was seen that the hydroxyapatite granules employed to fill the bone defects were biocompatible and that the bone defect was restored faster in the bone defects filled with HA whose granules had smaller diameters (212 µm).
Osseointegration; Durapatite; Rats, Wistar
