An optimized protocol for a standardized, femoral osteotomy model to study fracture healing in mice

Fracture healing represents a dynamic and complex process which depends on the balanced activities of a broad array of different cell types and signaling pathways. Here, we describe a femoral osteotomy protocol for mice, using an external fixator to stabilize the fractured bone. Depending on experimental requirements, the size of the osteotomy gap can be adjusted. Taken together, this protocol describes a highly standardized and reproducible murine model for morphologic and biomolecular assessment of the fracture healing process. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Appelt et al. (2020).