A simplified model of wound healing III - The critical size defect in three dimensions

A critical size defect (CSD) is the diameter of a bone wound such that beyond that amount, complete calcification of the wound will not occur during the lifetime of the animal. Adam [1] recently developed a one-dimensional model of this phenomenon, and Arnold and Adam [2] addressed the CSD in a two-dimensional model. This paper extends the study of the CSD phenomenon to three dimensions. A model is introduced in which a spherical gouge or wound has removed the entire bone and tissue within the wound area. It transpires that the range of CSD sizes for a reasonable estimate of the critical size defect is from 0.4cm up to 1.5cm for the parameter values considered. More realistic estimates await the appropriate experimental data. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.