[Studies on the mechanical properties of the knee ligament].
To study mechanical properties of the knee ligaments, tension tests at various speeds were performed on the knee of a dog with only the collateral ligament. The results showed that the tensile force was greater in high speed than in low speed test. The difference may be caused in a viscous property of the ligament. The mechanical properties of ligaments can therefore be treated as those of viscoelastic materials and expressed by a modified Voigt model consisting of a non-linear spring element and a dash pot component. Observations regarding the ultrastructure of human knee ligaments using an electron scanning microscope revealed wavy bundles of collagen fiber connected with coarse fibers like network running in parallel with the long axis as the main structure. The above structure and properties were considered to be the decisive factors in the mechanical actions of the knee ligament.
D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004285:Dogs; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint; D008023:Ligaments, Articular / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013314:Stress, Mechanical