ABSTRACT
Thus far, our focus has primarily been on cell biomechanics; in other words, the study of the mechanical behavior of cells. In these treatments, we used theoretical and experimental mechanics to understand better the mechanical behavior of cells or their structural constituents. Ultimately, we are interested in using this knowledge to understand how mechanics governs cellular function. We now make a conceptual turn, shifting our focus from cell biomechanics to cellular mechanobiology; in other words, aspects of biology in which mechanical force is generated, imparted, or sensed, leading to alterations in biological function. Because mechanics plays a critical role in many different physiological and pathological processes, a complete treatment of cellular mechanobiology is more than we can address here. In this chapter, we aim to give the reader a firm foundation upon which to build by focusing on three vital cellular processes in which mechanics dictates biological function: adhesion, migration, and contraction.
