Bone stiffness predicts strength similarly for human vertebral cancellous bone in compression and for cortical bone in tension

The yield strength and ultimate strength of cortical and cancellous bone ti ssue are very highly correlated to bone stiffness. For samples of human ver tebral cancellous bone in compression and for bovine cortical bone in tensi on, the coefficient of determination (r(2)) for regression between ultimate strength and stiffness was 0.89 and 0.92, and between yield strength and s tiffness it was 0.94 and 0.93, respectively. The slope of the regression fo r human vertebral cancellous bone ultimate strength predicted by stiffness was not statistically different from similar regressions for cortical bone in tension in either a bovine sample or in published data from multiple spe cies. We believe that the observed correlation results from the evolutionar y need to build sufficiently strong bones using cells that are sensitive to deformation and that directly control bone stiffness, but not strength. Th e practical significance of this work is that an in vivo estimate of bone s tiffness (e.g., from ultrasound measurement) may be a surrogate for bone st rength. (C) 2000 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.