Morphology, distribution, mineral density and volume fraction of human calcified costal cartilage

This study examines the properties of calcifying human costal cartilage and adjacent rib bone using qualitative and quantitative micro-computed tomography analysis. Calcifications are categorized with respect to location, microstructure, shape, and contiguity using a novel classification scheme and quantified in terms of mineral density, volume fraction, and length of infiltration from the costo-chondral junction (CCJ). Calcifications were present throughout the cartilage by location and ranged from small diffuse calcifications to nodes, rods, plates, and even large complex structures that exhibited a microstructural morphology similar to a cross-section of diaphysial bone, with a dense shell surrounding a trabecular core. Solid microstructure was most common for calcifications (44.5%), and the morphologies were found to vary with location, with rods and plates being most prevalent at the periphery (91.7% of all rods, 98.4% of all plates). The average mineral density of the calcifications over all locations and morphologies was 658.8 ± 86.36, compared with 662.7 ± 50.37 mgHA cm−3 for the adjacent rib bone. The calcification volume fraction (6.54 ± 4.71%) was less than the volume fraction of rib bone (21.62 ± 6.44%). The length of contiguous calcification infiltrating from the CCJ into the costal cartilage, when present, was 19.21 ± 11.65 mm. These changes in the costal cartilage should be considered in biomechanical models of the thorax since the presence, location, and morphology of the calcifications alter the material behavior of the costal cartilage, as well as the structural behavior of the entire rib.