Bob Turner
Tetracycline in Bone and Muscle, 1978

Photomicrograph; magnification approximately x240 at capture; fluorescence photomicroscope loaded with Kodak Ektachrome EL (ASA 400) film

The Scripps Research Institute, BioMedical Graphics, La Jolla, California, United States

In certain conditions, the introduction of the drug tetracycline into a subject’s diet can facilitate the direct observation of bone cell growth. When examined using fluorescence illumination, bone cells will clearly demonstrate relative daily growth as “rings,” seen here in the yellow circular structure of this canine bone. Muscle tissue in this sample appears green under fluorescence. Continued daily observation enables delineation of fine detail from one day to the next, and illustrates variations in growth rate as diet is changed in content and/or quantity. This data can then be used to help prescribe the best diet to use to foster bone growth, which in turn, promotes healing.

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