The existence of a relationship between mechanical stresses and bone remodeling has been known for over a century. The nature of this relationship, however, is still poorly understood. This dissertation presents an investigation of the influences of mechanical stresses in bone morphogenesis and remodeling. The goal of this study was to better understand normal growth and development and to predict the bone remodeling in clinical situations such as the use of prosthetic devices or metabolic bone disease. Several theories on bone morphogenesis, maintenance and remodeling were applied to finite element models. Emphasis was placed on the application of a time-dependent bone remodeling theory which takes into account the available surface area for osteoblastic and osteoclastic activity. A technique for computing bone density distributions based on this theory was applied to the proximal femur using multiple-loading two- and three-dimensional finite element models. The models initially represented solid, homogeneous structures. Using an iterative bone remodeling technique that relates bone apparent density to loading history, the internal distributions of apparent density and elastic modulus for the normal bones were predicted. The predicted bone density distributions for the natural femur agreed with previously documented normal bone morphology. The finite element models were then modified to represent bones in which femoral joint replacements had been implanted. The same iterative remodeling method was then applied to predict the distribution of bone around these components. The predicted bone density distributions around various implanted prostheses were characteristic of the component under investigation and were consistent with clinical and experimental findings of other investigators. Another application of this algorithm was to study the effect of changes in metabolic status and physical activity on bone remodeling. These applications demonstrate that the bone morphology can be mathematically related to the stress histories. The results further suggest that mechanical loading histories influence bone development starting from the embryonic stage and continuing throughout life.