Transverse trabeculae and osteoporosis in bones in experimental protein-calorie deficiency

Multiple transverse trabeculae which could not be related to any infective process were recently found in radiographs of the bones of pigs maintained on low-protein diets (Stewart & Platt, 1958); it was suggested that they were evidence of disturbances in the balance between chondrogenic and osteogenic activity.The occurrence of transverse bands of dense tissue in bone has been recognized for many decades-even before the introduction of radiology, and in 1923 Harris (1924-5) drew attention to the transverse lines seen in radiographs of the growing ends of the long bonesof children.The conclusion reached from subsequent investigations (Harris, 1926;Eliot, Souther