Impact of the porous microstructure on the overall elastic properties of the osteonal cortical bone

Mechanical properties of bones are largely determined by their microstructu re. The latter comprises a large number of diverse pores. The present paper analyzes a connection between structure of the porous space of the osteona l cortical bone and bone's overall anisotropic elastic moduli. The analysis is based on recent developments in the theory of porous materials that pre dict the anisotropic effective moduli of porous solids in terms of pores' s hapes, orientations and densities. Bone's microstructure is modeled using a vailable micrographs. The calculated anisotropic elastic constants for poro us cortical bone are, mostly, in agreement with available experimental data . The influence of each of tbe pore types on the overall moduli is examined . The results of the analysis can also be used to estimate the extent of mi neralization (hydroxyapatite content) if the overall porosity and the effec tive moduli an known and, vice versa, to estimate porosity from the measure d moduli and the extent of mineralization. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. A ll rights reserved.