Tubular anomalous bones were found in both thighs of a 6-year-old male long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) bred in captivity. The bones had jagged ends and protruded from the skin. Radiographs showed that they developed in the femurs at the middle and elongated. They were removed with surgery under anesthesia. Histological analysis revealed that these bones had the same histological structure as the femur, though they were composed of primary and secondary osteon regions. This finding indicated that the new bones developed from the old bone piece(s), acquired a tubular shape, and elongated. It is suggested that the anomalous bones were produced not by the congenital deformity but by regeneration from fragments of the fractured femur that were embedded in the bone marrow; these acquired a tubular pattern and elongated.

At present, eight non-human primate research facilities exist in Korea to examine the validity and safety of new bio-products, and to generate model animal systems using primates of low health status (low quality primates). However specific-pathogen free (SPF) primates (high quality primates) are the preferred choice for emerging disease studies and for numerous other research areas, including cell/gene therapy, stem cell research, regenerative studies, and brain science. Although international primate centers in developed countries have utilized high quality primate resources for many years, there has been little or no collaboration with less developed countries on primate research. Due to this, the establishment of a high quality primate research capacity is a core priority for the advancement of the biomedical research field in less developed countries. In this study, we investigated the demand for, and opportunities to support the development of this research capability.