ABSTRACT
Despite the apparent inanimate nature of bone, bone is a dynamic living material constantly being renewed and reconstructed throughout the lifetime of an individual. Bone deposition and bone resorption typically occur concurrently, so that bone is remodeled continually. It is this adaptive remodeling process, driven partially in response to functional requirements, that distinguishes living structural materials from other structural solids. As a complex biological phenomenon, adaptive bone remodeling has played a dominant role in the study of bone physiology and biomechanics for over a century, and has been active biologically for as long as there have been vertebrates.
