The morphology of the anterior tibial muscle in the process of leg lengthening after osteotomy of leg bones and during early postnatal ontogenesis

The anterior tibial muscle was studied experimentally in adult mongrel dogs, subjected to graduated leg lengthening by 1 mm per day for four times 0, 25 mm each, after open transverse osteotomy of leg bones with a chisel and in puppies during the early period of their postnatal development. The morphological signs of the anterior tibial muscle adaptation to graduated distraction of the leg were studied and compared with the signs of the muscle of the same name during postnatal development. The destructive changes in distraction including contractures of different degree were demonstrated to be characteristic of the muscles of the puppies in the period of their early postnatal ontogenesis. The signs of distraction growth, regeneration of the anterior tibial muscle in experimental conditions and during its natural development have the analogous features.