An experimental model to study the relationship between blood flow and uptake for bone-seeking radionuclides in normal bone

Abstract

An experimental model has been developed in which the blood flow into the nutrient artery of a canine tibia is controlled by a Harvard infusion pump. This model has been used to study the extraction of the bone-seeking radionuclide technetium-99m labelled methylene diphosphonate at two flows through the tibia. The results of these experiments form the basis of a discussion concerning the relative importance of blood flow in determining the uptake of bone-seeking radionuclides. Although areas of increased radionuclide uptake observed in bone scans are associated with increased blood flow to that area, the results indicate that, in normal bone, the rate at which the nuclides are taken up is not limited by the blood flow. The authors conclude that other factors, in addition to blood flow, must be involved in producing areas of high radionuclide uptake in bone.