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West Virginia University

Smoking and dose-dependent early effects of nicotine on bone mechanical properties and histology

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The objective was to study the effects of nicotine and cigarette smoke on mechanical properties of cortical bone. Experiments were conducted for 5 weeks with New Zealand White Rabbits. The first experiment of 18 rabbits studied the effect of nicotine levels delivered via a nicotine patch (5.25, 10.5, 21 ng/ml), measured by different mechanical tests, porosity, and composition. There was no significant difference between the control and the treatment groups.;The second experiment of 22 rabbits studied the effects of nicotine delivered via a nicotine patch (10.5 ng/ml) and via a smoking chamber on fracture toughness and porosity. The rabbits exposed to the smoke for 5 weeks had significantly lower fracture toughness values when compared to the different groups (exposed to smoke for 4 weeks group, nicotine group, and the control group). This suggests that other agents besides nicotine are responsible for the weakening of bone clinically seen in smokers.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
MS
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Year dc:date.available
2004

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Porter, Daniel Shaw
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Timothy Norman.

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-2511

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
West Virginia University
Base URL
researchrepository.wvu.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Porter, Daniel Shaw. Smoking and dose-dependent early effects of nicotine on bone mechanical properties and histology. Thesis thesis, 2004. https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.1508