Modelling bone tissue fracture and healing:: a review

This paper reviews the available literature on computational modelling in two areas of bone biomechanics: fracture and healing. Bone is a complex material, with a multiphasic, heterogeneous and anisotropic microstructure. The processes of fracture and healing can only be understood in terms of the underlying bone structure and its mechanical role. Bone fracture analysis attempts to predict the failure of musculoskeletal structures by several possible mechanisms under different loading conditions. However, as opposed to structurally inert materials, bone is a living tissue that can repair itself. An exciting new field of research is being developed to better comprehend these mechanisms and the mechanical behaviour of bone tissue. One of the main goals of this work is to demonstrate, after a review of computational models, the main similarities and differences between normal engineering materials and bone tissue from a structural point of view. We also underline the importance of computational simulations in biomechanics due to the difficulty of obtaining experimental or clinical results. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.