... tissue oxygen requirements. A recent ‘foramen technique’ has derived an index of blood flow rate ( ) by measuring nutrient foramen sizes of long bones. is assumed to be proportional to ; however, the assumption has never been tested. This study used fluorescent microsphere infusion to measure femoral...

...-sectional area of the nutrient foramen of the femur represents an index of blood flow rate to the shaft and thus provides insight into the animal's level of activity. Morphometric data on femoral length, mass and foramen size from 100 extant bird species and eight extinct moa species were analysed...