Biomechanical Properties of

Bone

Dr Imran Ghafoor
Head of Department
University of Sargodha Lahore
Campus
Composition of Bone
 Interstitial lamellae
• Interstitial lamellae is the regions between
osteons.
• They are continuous with the osteons and consist
of the same material in a different geometric
configuration.
• Many of the lacunae in the interstitial lamellae are
not inhabited by osteocytes.
• Interstitial lamellae tend to be areas of dead bone
with increased fragility.
 Types of bone
• At the macroscopic level, all bones are composed
of two types of osseous tissue:
• Cortical (compact) bone
• Cancellous (trabecular) bone.
• Cortical bone forms the outer shell, or cortex, of
the bone and has a dense structure similar to that
of ivory.
Spongy bone
 Cancellous bone
• Cancellous bone is composed of thin rods or
plates called trabeculae.
• In a loose mesh structure; the interstices between
the trabeculae are filled with red marrow.
• Cancellous bone tissue is arranged in concentric
lacunae-containing lamellae
• Cancellous bone not contain haversian canals.
• The osteocytes receive nutrients through canaliculi
from blood vessels passing through the red
marrow.
• Cortical bone always surrounds cancellous bone
Cancellous bone
 Bones forms
• Bone is found in two forms at the microscopic
level:
• Woven bone
• Lamellar bone
 Woven bone
• Woven bone is considered immature bone.
• It is found in the
• Embryo
• in the newborn
• in the fracture callus
• in the metaphysial region of growing bone.
• in tumors
• osteogenesis imperfecta
• pagetic bone.
 Lamellar bone
• Lamellar bone begins to form one month after birth
• It actively replaces woven bone
• It is a more mature form of bone.
• All bones are surrounded by a dense fibrous
membrane called the periosteum
• The outer periosteal layer is permeated with blood
vessels and nerve fibers
• It passes into the cortex via Volkmann canals
Periosteal blood and
nerve fibers
 Bone layers
• An inner osteogenic layer contains bone cells
responsible for generating new bone during
growth and repair (osteoblasts).
• The periosteum covers the entire bone except for
the joint surfaces
– which are covered with articular cartilage.

• In the long bones a thinner membrane the

endosteum lines the central (medullary) cavity
which is filled with yellow fatty marrow.
 Endosteum
• The endosteum contains osteoblasts and giant
multinucleated bone cells called osteoclasts
• Both are important in the remodeling and
resorption of bone.
 Biomechanical Properties of
Bone
• Biomechanically bone tissue may be
regarded as a biphasic composite material
• Mineral as one phase
• Collagen and ground substance other phase
• In such materials (a nonbiologic example is
fiberglass) in which a strong, brittle material
is embedded in a weaker, more flexible one,
the combined substances are stronger for
their weight than either substance is alone
 Mechanical properties of
bone
• The most important mechanical properties of bone
are
• Strength
• Stiffness
• Toughness.
• These characteristics can best be understood for
bone by examining its behavior under loading.
• Loading causes a deformation, or a change in the
dimensions of the structure
 Load-deformation curve.
• The deformation of that structure can be
measured and Plotted on a load-deformation
curve.
• The strength, stiffness, and other mechanical
properties of the structure can be gained by
examining this curve.
Stress-strain curve
 Collagen and bone
• The mineral component of the bone is thought to
give strength and stiffness to the bone.
• Type I collagen is most important in conferring the
fundamental toughness and post yield properties
to bone tissue.
• Research shows that denaturing collagen
decreases bone’s toughness and overall strength
by up to 60% (Wang et al., 2002).
 Collagen
• Type I collagen is a primary arrestor of cracks.
• Type I collagen is a vital element relating to the
energy required for matrix failure, independent of
size or geometry.
• It is the main determinant of bone toughness
defined
• by the area under the stress-strain curve, known
as the modulus of toughness
Stress strain curve
 Whole Bone

• The initial (straight line) portion of the curve,

the elastic region
• Its capacity to return to its original shape
after the load is removed.
• As the load is applied deformation occurs
but is not permanent
 Elastic Range or Limit
• The ability of a structure being loaded to
return to the original length after the
deforming load is removed OR
• When the force is removed the structure
returns to its original size and shape.
Stress strain curve
 Plastic region
• As the load exceeds this limit, the structure
exhibits plastic behavior
• Reflected in the second(curved) portion of the
curve, the plastic region.
• The structure will no longer return to its original
dimensions when the load has been released.
• If loading is progressively increased, the structure
will fail at some point (bone will fracture).
• This point is indicated by the ultimate failure point
on the curve.
 Strength of the structure
• Three parameters for determining the strength of a
structure are reflected on the load-deformation
curve:
(1) the load the structure can sustain before failing,
(2) the deformation it can sustain before failing,
(3) the energy it can store before failing.
• The strength in terms of load and deformation, or
ultimate strength, is indicated on the curve by the
ultimate failure point
 Strength and energy
• The strength in terms of energy storage is
indicated by the size of the area under the entire
curve.
• The larger the area, the greater the energy that
builds up in the structure as the load is applied.
• The stiffness of the structure is indicated by the
slope of the curve in the elastic region.
• The steeper the slope, the stiffer the material.
 Bone and strength
• The load-deformation curve is useful for
determining
• The mechanical properties of whole structures
• A whole bone, an entire ligament or tendon..
• This knowledge is helpful in studying
• Fracture behavior and repair