A Methodology for Mechanical Measurements of Technical Constants of Trabecular Bone

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Abstract
Vertebral trabecular bone was tested by non-destructive uniaxial and triaxial loadings with the purpose of investigating the orthotropic properties of bone. A triaxial testing apparatus using hydrostatic pressure was developed and allowed to characterise the bony tissue in a three-dimensional stressed state. Thirty specimens, in the form of 10 mm cubes, were tested. The Young's moduli obtained in this study for the trabecular bone of human lumbar vertebrae are found to be in agreement with the values obtained by ultrasonic methods. Analyses of triaxial compressive tests provided, for the first time, the Poisson's ratios of vertebral trabecular bone. These values are found to satisfy thermodynamic restrictions established by Cowin and Van Buskirk (1986). Finally, no significant differences in the material properties were found for segment level (L3-L4).