Utilizing synchrotron-imaging techniques to assess the cracks, fractures and breaks in the bones of a dinosaur, researchers from the University of Manchester have gained a wealth of knowledge about the healing process that occurred in these animals.

Analysis of dinosaur bones used to depend on the examination of deformed bones and healed fractures, often involving cutting through a fossil to see its secrets. Fortunately, synchrotron-based imaging utilizes light more luminous than 10 billion Suns, meaning the researchers could explore the chemical signatures hidden within the preserved dinosaur bones.

Interestingly, many predatory dinosaurs seemed to brush aside the shock of massive trauma. The fossil bones frequently revealed numerous healed injuries, many of which would be deadly to humans if left untreated.

“Using synchrotron imaging, we were able to detect astoundingly dilute traces of chemical signatures that reveal not only the difference between normal and healed bone, but also how the damaged bone healed,” said author Dr. Phil Manning of Manchester’s School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences. “It seems dinosaurs evolved a splendid suite of defense mechanisms to help regulate the healing and repair of injuries. The ability to diagnose such processes some 150 million years later might well shed new light on how we can use Jurassic chemistry in the 21st Century.”

The study’s findings are described in greater detail in the journal Interface.