The micromechanics versus the macromechanics of cortical bone: a comprehensive presentation

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The micromechanics versus the macromechanics of cortical bone: a comprehensive presentation

J Biomech Eng. November 1988;110(4):357-363

©1988 ASME

Affiliations

¹Department of Human Biopathology, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
Abstract

Secondary cortical bone is a complicated patchwork of structures which can be viewed as a hierarchy of four different orders. As far as the biomechanical properties of cortical bone are concerned, the lamella is the most important of the four. The relative distribution of longitudinal lamellae (whose fiber bundles and crystallites have a longitudinal course and withstand loading by tension) with respect to transverse lamellae (whose fiber bundles and crystallites have a transverse course and withstand loading by compression) governs the mechanical properties of bone at macroscopic level both in normal and pathological conditions.
Links

DOI: 10.1115/1.3108454

PubMed: 3060679

WoS: A1988AH36100015
History

Received: 1988-01-25

Revised: 1988-09-20

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Cited By (27)

Year	Entry
2001	Guo XE. Mechanical properties of cortical and cancellous bone tissue. In: Cowin SC, ed. Bone Mechanics Handbook. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2001:10-1–10-23.
2025	Skedros JG. Biomechanical foundations of histological analysis in limb bones: the crucial role of load-complexity categorization and collagen fiber orientation analysis when interpreting bone adaptation. In: Stout SD, Crowder C, eds. Bone Histology: A Biological Anthropological Perspective. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2025:150-224.
1990	Currey JD. Function and form of bone. In: Mow VC, Ratcliffe A, Woo SL-Y, eds. Biomechanics of Diarthrodial Joints. Vol 2. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag; 1990:3-30.
1993	Riggs CM, Lanyon LE, Boyde A. Functional associations between collagen fibre orientation and locomotor strain direction in cortical bone of the equine radius. Anat Embryol. March 1993;187(3):231-238.
1993	Riggs CM, Vaughan LC, Evans GP, Lanyon LE, Boyde A. Mechanical implications of collagen fibre orientation in cortical bone of the equine radius. Anat Embryol. March 1993;187(3):239-248.
2002	Hengsberger S, Kulik A, Zysset P. Nanoindentation discriminates the elastic properties of individual human bone lamellae under dry and physiological conditions. Bone. 2002;30(1):178-184.
2020	Willie BM, Zimmermann EA, Vitienes I, Main RP, Komarova SV. Bone adaptation: safety factors and load predictability in shaping skeletal form. Bone. February 2020;131:115114.
1997	Guo XE, Goldstein SA. Is trabecular bone tissue different from cortical bone tissue? Forma. 1997;12(3-4):185-196.
1993	Mammone JF, Hudson SM. Micromechanics of bone strength and fracture. J Biomech. April–May 1993;26(4-5):439-446.
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2005	Hoffler CE, Guo XE, Zysset PK, Goldstein SA. An application of nanoindentation technique to measure bone tissue lamellae properties. J Biomech Eng. January 2005;127(7):1046-1053.
2006	Dong XN, Guo XE. Prediction of cortical bone elastic constants by a two-level micromechanical model using a generalized self-consistent method. J Biomech Eng. June 2006;128(3):309-316.
1999	Puustjärvi K, Nieminen J, Räsänen T, Hyttinen M, Helminen HJ, Kröger H, Huuskonen J, Alhava E, Kovanen V. Do more highly organized collagen fibrils increase bone mechanical strength in loss of mineral density after one-year running training? J Bone Miner Res. March 1999;14(3):321-329.
2011	Reisinger AG, Pahr DH, Zysset PK. Principal stiffness orientation and degree of anisotropy of human osteons based on nanoindentation in three distinct planes. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. November 2011;4(8):2113-2127.
2003	Ascenzi M-G, Ascenzi A, Benvenuti A, Burghammer M, Panzavolta S, Bigid A. Structural differences between “dark” and “bright” isolated human osteonic lamellae. J Struct Biol. January 2003;141(1):22-33.
2006	Ascenzi M-G, Lomovtsev A. Collagen orientation patterns in human secondary osteons, quantified in the radial direction by confocal microscopy. J Struct Biol. January 2006;153(1):14-30.
2010	Campbell SE. Nanoindentation of Bio- and Geo-Mineralized Composites: Contribution of Microstructure and Composition [PhD thesis]. University of Colorado; 2010.
2002	Dong X. Micromechanics of Osteonal Cortical Bone [PhD thesis]. Columbia University; 2002.
2002	Hengsberger S. Mechanical Characterization of Bone from the Tissue Down to the Lamellar Level by Means of Nanoindentation [PhD thesis]. Lausanne, Switzerland: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; 2002.
2011	Reisinger AG. Modeling and Validation of Multiscale Lamellar Bone Elasticity [PhD thesis]. Vienna University of Technology; November 2011.
2012	Evdokimenko E. Investigation Into Mechanical Properties of Bone and Its Main Constituents [PhD thesis]. San Diego (UCSD), University of California; 2012.
1994	Jepsen KJ. Characterization of the Hierarchical Composite Properties of Cortical Bone: A Transgenic Approach [PhD thesis]. University of Michigan; 1994.
2016	Arango Villegas C. Study of the Mechanical Behavior of Cortical Bone Microstructure by the Finite Element Method [PhD thesis]. Universität Politècnica de València; May 2016.
1998	Vajda EG. Age-Related Changes in the Microstructure and Mineralization of the Female Proximal Femur [PhD thesis]. University of Utah; March 1998.
2010	Beckstrom AB. Histologic and Geometric Data Challenge the Assumption of Habitual Superior-Inferior (tension-Compression) Bending Across the Chimpanzee Proximal Femur [Master's thesis]. University of Utah; August 2010.
2012	Banglmaier RF. Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of a Hydroxyapatite-Collagen Bone Surrogate [PhD thesis]. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University; August 2012.