Skeletal Site-Specific Response of Jawbones and Long Bones to Surgical Interventions in Rats Treated with Zoledronic Acid

Figure 1

Flow chart of grouping and treatment of animals. A total of forty-eight rats are randomly assigned into ZA-treated group (Group ZA) and control group (Group C). Each group is further divided into three subgroups based on the length of treatment. Zoledronic acid (0.066 mg/kg) is administered intraperitoneally three times per week from the start of the experiment until sacrifice. At the end of the fourth week, all animals receive surgical intervention including a defect creation on the right femur and lower first molar and upper first molar extraction. Animals are sacrificed at two weeks, four weeks and eight weeks after surgery. ^∗The timepoints were counted starting from the time of the surgery. Before surgical intervention, four weeks of ZA/normal saline is administered.