Objective To explore the mechanism of the femoral head necrosis induced with long term glucocorticoid treatment by means of microvascular density and cellular ultrastructure. Methods 40 Japanese rabbits were used to establish an animal model of the femoral head necrosis induced by long term glucocorticoid treatment using injection with methylprednisolone 8 mg/kg weekly. In studying cellular ultrastructure and microvascular density of the femoral head necrosis models, the slides were made after vascular infusion with Chinese ink on 4th, 8th, and 12th week of the experiment. The network of microvasculature of the rabbit ear was photographied as a reference data before and after methylprednisolone treatment. Results Microvascular density in bilateral cancellous and compact bone of the femoral head became decreased statistically after 12 weeks of glucocorticoid treatment(P

Objective To explore the relationship between blood flow viscosity and femoral head necrosis after long-term glucocorticoid treatment (FHNG). Methods Blood and plasma viscosity, blood flow speed, RBC fragility, electrophoresis time, and the speed of blood flow were measured. Cellular ultrastructural changes of FHNG were studied with electron microscope. Results Blood viscosity of the treatment group increased obviously at the 8th week compared with that of control group (P