Element concentrations and element ratios in antler and pedicle bone of yearling red deer (Cervus elaphus) stags-a quantitative X-ray fluorescence study.

The present study compared the concentrations of different elements (Ca, P, Mg, Sr, Ba, K, S, Zn, Mn) as well as Ca/P, Ca/Mg, Sr/Ca, and Ba/Ca ratios in hard antler and pedicle bone of yearling red deer stags (n = 11). Pedicles showed higher concentrations of calcium and phosphorus and a higher Ca/Mg ratio than antlers, while antlers exhibited higher concentrations of potassium, sulfur, and manganese as well as higher Ca/P, Sr/Ca, and Ba/Ca ratios. The findings indicate that antlers are less mineralized and show less maturation of their bone mineral than pedicles.

Histological studies of bone formation during pedicle restoration and early antler regeneration in roe deer and fallow deer.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the process of bone formation in the regenerating cranial appendages of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and fallow deer (Dama dama) during the early postcasting period. After the antlers are cast, osteoclastic and osteoblastic activities lead to a smoothing of the pedicle's separation surface, a strengthening of the pedicle bone, and a partial restoration of the distal pedicle portion that was lost along with the cast antler. Initially, bone formation occurs by intramembranous ossification, but early during the regeneration process cartilage is formed at the tips of the cranial appendages, and is subsequently replaced by bone in a process of endochodral ossification.