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Review
. 2001 Oct;12(5):384-8.
doi: 10.1097/00001433-200110000-00004.

Skeletal adaptation to external loads optimizes mechanical properties: fact or fiction

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Review

Skeletal adaptation to external loads optimizes mechanical properties: fact or fiction

R T Turner. Curr Opin Orthop. 2001 Oct.

Abstract

The skeleton adapts to a changing mechanical environment but the widely held concept that bone cells are programmed to respond to local mechanical loads to produce an optimal mechanical structure is not consistent with the high frequency of bone fractures. Instead, the author suggests that other important functions of bone compete with mechanical adaptation to determine structure. As a consequence of competing demands, bone architecture never achieves an optimal mechanical structure.

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