While traditional materials and wear testing methods exist to evaluate the efficacy of joint implants used in the treatment of severe osteoarthritis, there is not a method by which the ability of an implant to restore joint motion and loading can be evaluated. The use of a finite element (FE) model of the knee joint was proposed to serve as a virtual test bed from which design changes and the effect of surgical technique can be evaluated. A cadaveric specimen was obtained, and using a unique experimental apparatus, the stiffness of the knee joint in six degrees of freedom was evaluated at different states of soft tissue resections. The changes in stiffness from one resection state to another were attributed to the passive properties of the soft tissues. The experimental results were in agreement with previously published studies, and used to create an FE model which modeled the mechanical properties of the medial and lateral collateral ligaments using a non-linear, transversely isotropic, hyperelastic strain energy function. The parameters of the strain energy function were modified until the FE model most closely matched the experimental data, and validated against data not used in the optimization process which resulted in good agreement between experiment and model kinetics. A novel methodology for creating a physiological knee model has been created, and the results of the experimental work provide new data regarding the effect of soft tissue resection on medial-lateral kinematics - an area previously unreported in the literature. The finite element model presented, to the best of my knowledge, represents the first model whose geometry and mechanical properties were derived from the same specimen. This model can be used to virtually implant a TKA and perform parametric studiehtf rant parameters and their effect on joint stiffness and range of motion.