Microstructural and dynamic mechanical behavior of the cortical bone

The living biological materials of the human body are organized into cells, tissue, organs, and individual organisms. The skeleton is made up of bone and cartilage. Bone is a hard connective tissue, which forms most of the skeletons. It performs multiple mechanical and biological functionalities; it supports the whole body, protects vital organs, stores minerals, and continuously supplies new blood cells. To provide the desired mechanical functions, the bone consists of a complex hierarchical structure, which is predominantly made up of organic matrix, mineral phase, and water. Based on the microstructure of the bone, it is divided into two types: trabecular bone and cortical bone. The trabecular bone has a porous and honeycomb-like structure, whereas the cortical bone is a dense bone that is strong, tough, and peripheral, which shields the inner trabecular bone and vital organs. The prime function of the bone is to provide support to the body, therefore providing a mechanical basis for the movement. During daily physiological activities, our skeleton is subjected to various types of loading with different magnitudes and loading rates. Bones are adapted for daily habitual loading conditions; however, during traumatic events such as falls and vehicle accidents, it could undergo nonhabitual loadings. Also, during these events, the bone has to protect vital organs and prevent excessive deformation of the surrounding tissues. Therefore, the knowledge of the structure of the bone and its mechanical behavior under different loading scenarios is required to mitigate the fractures. The broader aim of bone research is fracture risk assessment, alteration in bone quality due to disease and pathological conditions, assessment of the performance of drugs on bone quality, and design of artificial bone grafts, implants, and protective equipment. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the cause of bone failure to develop a useful technique for treating any bone disorder and designing artificial bone grafts, implants, and other protective equipment.