Relationship of bone marrow microvasculature with plutonium incorporation into bone

The microvasculature and the relative incorporation of 241Pu on travecular bone surfaces from red and fatty marrow sites were studied in the adult beagle. The vascular volume, as determined by India ink perfusion, was about 16% in the red marrow and about 2% in the fatty marrow. The red marrow has large vascular sinusoids with a discontinuous endothelial lining whereas fatty marrow has a closed capillary bed. A much greater relative activity of 241Pu is found on bone surfaces surrounded by red marrow than bone surfaces surrounded by fatty marrow. These differences in the microvasculature may help explain differences in Pu incorporation, local bone physiology and osteosarcoma incidence that occur in these different skeletal sites