The Biomechanics of Human Ribs: Material and Structural Properties from Dynamic Tension and Bending Tests

The purpose of this study was to quantify both the tensile material properties and structural response of human ribs in order to determine which variables contribute to regional variation in the strength of human ribs. This was done by performing 94 matched tests on human rib specimens; 46 tension c...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kemper, Andrew R, McNally, Craig, Pullins, Clayton A, Freeman, Laura J, Duma, Stefan M, Rouhana, Stephen W
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
bending
biomechanics
bone
injury
rib
strain
stress
tension
Thorax
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to quantify both the tensile material properties and structural response of human ribs in order to determine which variables contribute to regional variation in the strength of human ribs. This was done by performing 94 matched tests on human rib specimens; 46 tension coupon tests, 48 three-point bending tests. Contralateral matched specimens were dissected from anterior and lateral regions of ribs 4 through 7 of six male fresh frozen post mortem human subjects ranging from 42 to 81 years of age. Tension coupons were taken from one side of the thorax, while three-point bending specimens were taken from the opposite side as the tension coupons at corresponding anatomical locations. The results of the tension coupon testing showed that there were no significant differences with respect to region or rib level: ultimate stress (p=0.90; p=0.53), ultimate strain (p=0.49; p=0.86), or modulus (p=0.72; p=0.81). In contrast, lateral three-point bending specimens were found to have a significantly higher peak bending moment (p
ISSN:0148-7191
2688-3627
DOI:10.4271/2007-22-0011