Percutaneous trephine biopsy of the vertebral body in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta).
Two methods of percutaneous vertebral body biopsy were performed in the Rhesus monkey, using a 3-mm diameter trephine and a pneumatic driver placed at a 30 degrees angle of approach to the transverse plane of the spine. The freehand method involved placing needle landmarks in the spine, followed by examination of a lateral radiograph of the lumbar region to verify landmark positioning and to estimate placement of the trephine. In the 2nd method, a pneumatic trephine guide was oriented according to a trigonometric calculation based on radiographic data. The pneumatic trephine guide allowed precise placement of the driver and steadied the trephine as it passed through the bone.