Surgical method for critical sized cranial defects in rat cranium

Cranial tissue models are a widely used model to show the bone repair and the regeneration ability of candidate biomaterials for tissue engineering purposes. Until now, efficacy studies of different biomaterials for calvarial defect bone regeneration have been reported, generally in small animal models. This paper offers a versatile, reliable, and reproducible surgical method for creating a critical-sized cranial defect in rats including critical steps and tried-and-tested tips. The method proposed here, • Shows a general procedure for in vivo cranial models. • Provide an insight to restore bone tissue repair that may be used in combination with several tissue engineering strategies; • Is a crucial technique that may guide in vivo bone tissue engineering.