University of Wisconsin-Madison
Tissue Mechanics: Bone and Ligament Biomechanics
Tissue biomechanics BME 615

[Rod Lakes]

Bone structure and properties
The left image shows structure of a cross section of bovine plexiform bone; the center image, of a cross section of human Haversian bone under polarized light.
The far right image shows a stained section of bone, showing the osteocytes (bone cells). The image, after Professor Peter Muir of Veterinary Medicine, is a composite image, obtained with a confocal microscope in bright light, of a decalcified transverse section of the mid-diaphysis of a dog humerus, stained with silver to highlight the canaliculi.

The small dark circles in the human bone at center are cross sections of Haversian canals. The crossed polarizers give rise to the dark color. The large circles are cross sections of osteons, which are large fibers about 200 microns across. Bovine plexiform bone has a laminated structure.

The images below show schematic diagrams of hierarchical structure of bone and of tendon.

Hierarchical structure of compact bone. Reference: Lakes, R. S., "Materials with structural hierarchy", Nature, 361, 511-515 (1993). link


Hierarchical structure of tendon. Reference: J. Kastelic, A. Galeski, and E. Baer "The Multicomposite Structure of Tendon", Connective Tissue Research, 1978, Vol 6, pp. 11-23.