Influence of Bladder Extracts and Viosterol on Healing of Fractures and Bone Defects

Abstract

Huggins 1 has shown that if a piece of the mucous membrane of the urinary bladder of a dog is transplanted into the abdominal wall of the same animal the transplant forms a cyst lined by bladder epithelium and true bone tends to form in and about the wall of the cyst. We 2 have confirmed Huggins' observation and have also shown that an autogenous transplant of bladder epithelium may stimulate the repair of defects in normal bone. This was demonstrated by a series of experiments in which comparatively large defects were created in both ulnas of dogs and at the original operation the defect on one side was bridged by a strip of bladder mucous membrane while the similar defect in the other ulna was left as a control. The defect bridged by the bladder transplant tended to heal by deposition of bone while non-union occurred on the control side. Similar results were obtained when scrapings from the mucous membrane of the dog's bladder were placed in fresh ulnar defects in the same animal.

The results of these experiments were so striking that we have performed other experiments in a search for an explanation of the phenomena. It seemed possible to us that the effect of the mucous membrane might be due to a hormone. Accordingly, extracts were made from bladders of dogs and swine and were injected at the site of fractures and bone defects.

Fresh mucous membrane, obtained from dog's bladder by stripping it from the muscularis, was titurated by grinding it in a mortar containing sand and normal saline. After standing for awhile to let the sand settle to the bottom of the container, the supernatant fluid containing the macerated cells of the mucous membrane was decanted off and was preserved in an icebox.