BIOMECHANICS OF DIARTHROIDAL JOINTS - A REVIEW OF 20 YEARS OF PROGRESS

A survey of some of the advances made over the past twenty years in un derstanding diarthrodial joint biomechanics is presented. Topics cover ed in this review include. biotribology (i.e., friction, lubrication a nd wear of diarthrodial joints); contact area determinations; stereoph otogrammetric rendering of articular surfaces; deformational field ana lysis using canonical problems; and finite element formulations for bo th infinitesimal and finite deformations of biphasic materials and pre cise anatomic surfaces. Suggestions are made for future research direc tions as well.