ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors summarize aspects of bone pertinent to discussion on the mechanical measurement. Bone is a very specialized form of connective tissue composed of organic and inorganic phases. Bones provide important functions to the body including mechanical support and site of muscle attachment for locomotion, protection of various vital organs such as the brain, spinal cord, heart, lungs and bone marrow, and metabolic pathways associated with mineral homoeostasis, representing calcium and phosphate reserves. Materials that have different properties in different directions are termed anisotropic. Bone structural and mechanical anisotropy refers to the variation in orientation of trabeculae and consequently mechanical properties and is an important architectural property of cancellous bone. Mechanical properties of bone are basic parameters, which reflect the structure and function of bone. In studying bone mechanics, a distinction is usually made between the behaviour of a whole bone as a structure and the intrinsic mechanical properties of the bone tissue as a material.
