Osteocyte lacunae features in different chicken bones

• Main Author: Domenis L., Squadrone S., Marchis D., Abete MC.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Presses Agronomiques de Gembloux 2009-01-01
• Series: Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société et Environnement
• Subjects: bone; chicken; osteocyte lacunae; Processed animal protein (PAP)
• Online Access: http://www.pressesagro.be/base/text/v13ns/29.pdf

Directive 2003/126/EC defines the method for the determination of constituents of animal origin for official control of feedingstuffs. One of the hardest problems for microscopist is the differentiation between mammalian and poultry bones on the basis of some characteristics as colour and borders of the fragments, shape and density of osteocyte lacunae. The shape of osteocyte lacuna in poultry and mammals is often described in different way, elliptic or roundish according with the Author(s). The aim of this study was to analyze the characteristics of lacunae in chicken bones of different type. For this purpose, smashed fragments and histological sections of the same bone were compared in order to evaluate the microscopic aspect of lacunae in different breaking and trimming planes. According to the observations carried out, it was possible to infer that chicken osteocyte has a biconvex lens shape; however the different arrangement and some size variation of the osteocytes in the several bone segments influence the microscopic features of corresponding lacunae. Chicken bone is made of a parallel-fibered tissue, without osteons. This structure probably determines the plane fracture of the bone and consequently the different aspect of lacunae (from spindle-shaped to elliptic-roundish) we can see in chicken derived PAP (processed animal protein). For example, in the fragments obtained from smashed diaphysis, the prevalence of spindle-shaped lacunae is depending on the preferential breaking of the bone along longitudinal plane. Likewise, for the epiphysis, being made mostly by bone trabeculae with strange directions, the breaking happens along different planes, creating lacunae of various shape. Performing the official check of animal feedingstuffs, the presence of bone fragments with roundish or elliptic osteocyte lacunae induces the analyst to thinking that the meat and bone meal comes respectively from mammals and poultry or vice versa depending to the reference Author(s); apart from the final evaluation (also based on some other features of the fragments), it is important to consider that the chicken bones could show lacunae of different shapes (spindle, elliptic and roundish), in accordance with the type and the breaking of the involved skeleton segments.