ABSTRACT
Biological soft tissues are nonlinear, anisotropic, fibrous composites, and detailed description of their behavior is the subject of active research. One can separate these tissues based on their mode of loading: cartilage is generally loaded in compression; tendons and ligaments are loaded in tension; and muscles generate active tension. The structure and material properties differ to accommodate the tissue function, and this chapter outlines those features. Practical models of each tissue are described, with particular focus on active force generation by skeletal muscle and application to segmental modeling.
