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A Comparative Biomechanical Study of Load Bearing Properties between the Humerus and the Femur
Author(s) -
Khan Hassan S,
Hayes Westley,
Saha Subrata,
Márquez Samuel
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.867.13
Subject(s) - cadaveric spasm , humerus , femur , weight bearing , biomechanics , load bearing , load cell , medicine , compression (physics) , anatomy , orthodontics , cadaver , creep , materials science , biomedical engineering , structural engineering , composite material , surgery , engineering
Living bone is subjected to a series of complex load as external and internal forces act on our skeletal system during locomotion. Differences in mechanical properties are dependent upon whether the bone is weight bearing or not. For example, the human femur exhibits greater mass and resistance to applied force than the humerus presumably due to its role as a weight bearing bone. This quantitative comparative study focuses on load to failure values between the humerus and femur bone tissue. Upper and lower limb segments from cadaveric material were disarticulated and cleaned in order to harvest the bones of interest for this study. Proximal and distal one inch segments were machined and X‐rays were performed to examine for any pathologies. The samples were mechanically tested using the Instron 8874 (Norwood, MA) Servohydraulic Test System to measure the loads to assess compression failure of these segments. Results showed a marked variation in the maximum force between the humerus and the femur. The proximal and distal humeral segments withstood an average compressive load of 18,935 N and 8,440 N respectively. The femoral segments withstood the maximum applied force of 25,000 N. These results confirm weight bearing bones have higher resistance to compressive forces. The results of this study will illuminate the role of load bearing on the mechanical properties of bone tissue. Grant Funding Source : Dept. of Cell Biology