Microplastics in human skeletal tissues: Presence, distribution and health implications

Although microplastics have been detected in human blood, placenta and other tissues. In this study, for the first time, we characterized the presence and variation of microplastic deposition patterns in three human skeletal tissues, namely the bone, cartilage, and intervertebral discs. Forty microplastic fragments were observed in 24 samples from the bone, cartilage, and intervertebral disc, ranging from 25.44 to 407.39 μm in diameter. The deposition abundance of microplastics in the human intervertebral disc (61.1 ± 44.2 particles/g) was higher than those in the bone (22.9 ± 15.7 particles/g) and cartilage tissue (26.4 ± 17.6 particles/g). The average sizes of microplastics in intervertebral discs (159.5 ±…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Award: 82271913
• FM
  Fourth Military Medical University
• KI
  Key Industry Innovation Chain of Shaanxi

  Award: 2023-ZDLSF-12