Method to Evaluate Mechanical Properties of Bone in Fish

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A method for testing the mechanical properties of fish vertebrae was adapted from other vertebrae studies and used to describe the structural integrity of fishesˈ vertebra tissues. Individual vertebrae from the anterior region of the spinal column were subjected to compression tests to determine strength (ultimate stress and stress at elastic limit), elasticity (ultimate strain and modulus of elasticity), and energy‐absorbing capacity (toughness). For brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, and bluegills Lepomis macrochirus, mechanical properties of bone differed among species and changed with age within a species. Overall, changes in mechanical properties were related to age‐dependent changes in bone density.