ABSTRACT
Biomechanics is the application of engineering principles to biological structures and systems. It includes the characterization and quantification of load application, load response, and the various physiological responses to load. Biomechanics is indispensable if one is to understand how organisms exist in a mechanical environment, and how the structures and systems of those organisms are adapted to, and function in that environment. Biomechanics is also essential in understanding and evaluating the etiology of skeletal pathologies and trauma, as well as evaluating the various medical modalities applied to prevent or heal them. Biomechanical evaluation can take the form of noninvasive image analyses, finite element models, gait analyses, strain gauge analyses, or direct mechanical tests. This chapter has been written to serve as both a review of basic skeletal biomechanics, and as an overview of the potential applications of biomechanics in evaluating the efficacy of tissue engineering as an intervention process in musculoskeletal medicine.
