Abstract
In the 18th century, the fate of allografts and their role in bone formation became of interest to many orthopaedic surgeons. A controversy over the science of osteogenesis, the formation of bone, had emerged following the opposing views of Duhamel and von Haller. Duhamel noted that the periosteum had a deep osteogenic layer, which he termed the “cambium layer”. However, von Haller claimed the opposite: the periosteum was not osteogenic. In the 19th century, Ollier performed comprehensive studies on the periosteum. Ollier’s experiments were published in two volumes entitled “Traite Experimental et clinique de la regeneration des os” in 1867. His conclusion was that transplanted periosteum and bone survived and could become osteogenic under proper conditions. The controversy was furthered by MacEwen who believed, contrary to Duhamel and Ollier, that the periosteum had no osteogenetic power and was purely a limiting membrane giving direction to bone growth but taking no active part in it. This manuscript describes this period of controversies about the osteogenesis of the transplanted bone, marrow and periosteum that would eventually die or not and be replaced by surrounding tissue or be active for osteogenesis. Whether bone grafts are a form of passive scaffolding or active in osteogenesis was the main question about auto and allografts in the 18th and 19th centuries. In response to this challenge, many papers were written to defend each side of the argument.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Axhausen G (1907) Histologische untersuchungen uber knochentransplantation am menschen. Duetsche Zeitschr F Chir 91:388–428
Axhausen G (1909) Die histologischen und klinischen gesetze der freien osteoplastik auf grund von thierversuchen. Arch F Klin Chir 88:23–145
Axhausen G (1909) Zur frage der freien osteoplastik. Zentralbl Chir 36:133–134, Beilage
Axhausen G (1909) Ueber den vorgang partieller sequestrirung transplantierten knochengewebes nebst neuen histologischen untersuchungen uber knochentransplantation am menschen. Arch F Klin Chir 89:281–302
Belchier J (1736) An account of the bones of animals being changed to a red colour by aliment only. Philos Trans R Soc 39:287–288
Belchier J (1736) A further account of the bones of animals being made red by aliment only. Philos Trans R Soc 39:299–300
Duhamel, HL (1742) Sur le developpement et la crue des os des animeaux. Histoire et memoiresde l’academie des inscriptions et belles lettres 2, 481
Duhamel HL (1739) Sur une racine qui a la faculte de triendre en rouge les os des animaux vivants. Mem Acad Roy des Sci Paris 52:1–13
Duhamel HL (1742) Sur le developpment et la crue des os des animaux. Mem Acad Roy des Sci Paris 55:354–370
Duhamel HL (1743) Quatrieme memoire sur les os dans lequel on se propose de rapporter de nouvelles preuves qui etablissent que les os croissent en grosseur par l’addition de couches osseuses qui tirent leur origine du perioste. Commun L’Acad Roy des Sci Paris 56:87–111
Fischer LP, Ferry MH, Begui J, Chavanne H, Papin P, Chotelet JC, Eyraud G (1995) Ollier, the father of bone and joint and of reconstruction surgery 1839-1900. Maîtrise Orthopédique 47
Fischer LP, Chatin B, Neidhard JC et al (2000) Centenaire d’Ollier créateur de la chirurgie orthopédique et de la chirurgie expérimentale (1830-1900). Conférence de l’Institut d’Histoire de la Médecine; cycle 1999-2000. Collection Fondation Marcel Merieux, Lyon, pp 77–91
Flourens JPM (1842) Recherches sur le developpement des os et des dents. Gide, Paris
Hernigou P (2014) Bone transplantation and tissue engineering, part I. Mythology, miracles and fantasy: from Chimera to the Miracle of the Black Leg of Saints Cosmas and Damian and the cock of John Hunter. Int Orthop 2014 Sep 9. PMID: 25201179. doi:10.1007/s00264-014-2511-y
Hunter J (1835) Works, vol 1. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, London, p 502
Le petit journal (1884) Supplément illustré du lundi 3 juillet, 1894
MacEwen W (1881) Observations concerning transplantation of bone: illustrated by a case of inter-human osseous transplantation whereby over two-thirds of the shaft of a humerus was restored. Proc R Soc (Lond) 32:232–247
MacEwen W (1909) Intrahuman bone grafting and reimplantation of bone. Ann Surg 50:959–963
MacEwen W (1912) The growth of bone. Observations on osteogenesis. J. Maclehose & Sons, Glasgow
Ollier l (1867) Traité expérimental et clinique de la régénération des os et de la production artificielle du tissu osseux, two volumes. Victor Masson, Paris
Pecina M, Vukicevic S (2014) Tissue engineereng and regenerative orthopaedics (TERO). Int Orthop 38(9):1757–1760. doi:10.1007/s00264-014-2477-9
Peltier LF (2000) Transplantation of tissue from lower animals to man. Clin Orthop 371:3–9
Phemister DB (1914) The fate of transplanted bone and regenerative power of its various constituents. Surg Gynecol 19:303–333
Van Leeuwenhoek A (1677) Letter to Oldenburg dated 9 October 1676. Philosophical Transactions 12:831
van Meekren (1668) Heel- en geneeskonstige aanmerkkingen; German edition of Meekren’s only and richly illustrated book, first published in Dutch (Latin edition in 1682)
Von Haller A (1763) Experimenta de ossium formatione. in Opera minora. 1763. Francisci Grasset, Lausanne, pp 1763–400
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hernigou, P. Bone transplantation and tissue engineering. Part II: bone graft and osteogenesis in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Duhamel, Haller, Ollier and MacEwen). International Orthopaedics (SICOT) 39, 193–204 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-014-2578-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-014-2578-5