This special volume of the Journal of Elasticity represents the first in a new p- gram dedicated to the occasional publication of collections of invited, reviewed papers of topical interest. The purpose of this program is to spotlight the dev- opments and applications in the mechanics of materials within specific areas that can enhance growth and provide insight for the advancement of the field as well as promote fundamental understanding and basic discovery. Soft Tissue Mechanics is an area of biomechanics that draws heavily upon f- damental ideas and material models from nonlinear elasticity and viscoelasticity. A major goal of this research is to understand those mechanics properties of heart, artery, collagen and skeletal muscle tissue that can be used for the diagnosis of health problems and the improvement of human life. This volume illustrates how experiment, modeling and computation is currently employed in this emerging field. May 2001 ROGER FOSDICK Editor-in-Chief Journal of Elasticity 61: ix–xii, 2000. ix Preface There are two primary areas for the application of elasticity in the biomechanics of tissues: hard tissue mechanics (e.g., bone, teeth, horns, etc.) and soft tissue - chanics (e.g., skin, tendons, arteries, etc.). The distinguishing feature between these tissue types is the amount of physiological “normal” deformation they experience. While “hard” tissues only experience small deformations, soft tissues typically experience large deformations. From a biomechanics viewpoint soft tissues fall within the realm of finite elasticity.

The book is written by leading experts in the field presenting an up-to-date view of the subject matter in a didactically sound manner. It presents a review of the current knowledge of the behaviour of soft tissues in the cardiovascular system under mechanical loads, and the importance of constitutive laws in understanding the underlying mechanics is highlighted. Cells are also described together with arteries, tendons and ligaments, heart, and other biological tissues of current research interest in biomechanics. This includes experimental, continuum mechanical and computational perspectives, with the emphasis on nonlinear behaviour, and the simulation of mechanical procedures such as balloon angioplasty.

This text presents a general introduction to soft tissue biomechanics. One of its primary goals is to introduce basic analytical, experimental and computational methods. In doing so, it enables readers to gain a relatively complete understanding of the biomechanics of the heart and vasculature.

The objective of this book is to illustrate in specific detail how cardiovascular mechanics stands as a common pillar supporting such different clinical successes as drugs for high blood pressure, prosthetic heart valves and coronary artery bypass grafting, among others. This information is conveyed through a comprehensive treatment of the overarching principles and theories that are behind mechanobiological processes, aortic and arterial mechanics, atherosclerosis, blood and microcirculation, hear valve mechanics, as well as medical devices and drugs. Examines all major theoretical and practical aspects of mechanical forces related to the cardiovascular system. Discusses a unique coverage of mechanical changes related to an aging cardiovascular system. Provides an overview of experimental methods in cardiovascular mechanics. Written by world-class researchers from Canada, the US and EU. Extensive references are provided at the end of each chapter to enhance further study. Michel R. Labrosse is the founder of the Cardiovascular Mechanics Laboratory at the University of Ottawa, where he is a full professor within the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He has been an active researcher in academia along with being heavily associated with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He has authored or co-authored over 90 refereed communications, and supervised or co-supervised over 40 graduate students and post-docs.

The structures of living tissues are continually changing due to growth and response to the tissue environment, including the mechanical environment. Tissue Mechanics is an in-depth look at the mechanics of tissues. Tissue Mechanics describes the nature of the composite components of a tissue, the cellular processes that produce these constituents, the assembly of the constituents into a hierarchical structure, and the behavior of the tissue’s composite structure in the adaptation to its mechanical environment. Organized as a textbook for the student needing to acquire the core competencies, Tissue Mechanics will meet the demands of advanced undergraduate or graduate coursework in Biomedical Engineering, as well as, Chemical, Civil, and Mechanical Engineering. Key features: Detailed Illustrations Example problems, including problems at the end of sections A separate solutions manual available for course instructors A website (http://tissue-mechanics.com/) that has been established to provide supplemental material for the book, including downloadable additional chapters on specific tissues, downloadable PowerPoint presentations of all the book's chapters, and additional exercises and examples for the existing chapters. About the Authors: Stephen C. Cowin is a City University of New York Distinguished Professor, Departments of Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering, City College of the City University of New York and also an Adjunct Professor of Orthopaedics, at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, New York. In 1985 he received the Society of Tulane Engineers and Lee H. Johnson Award for Teaching Excellence and a recipient of the European Society of Biomechanics Research Award in 1994. In 1999 he received the H. R. Lissner medal of the ASME for contributions to biomedical engineering. In 2004 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and he also received the Maurice A. Biot medal of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Stephen B. Doty is a Senior Scientist at Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York and Adjunct Professor, School of Dental and Oral Surgery, Columbia University, New York, NY. He has over 100 publications in the field of anatomy, developmental biology, and the physiology of skeletal and connective tissues. His honors include several commendations for participation in the Russian/NASA spaceflights, the Spacelab Life Science NASA spaceflights, and numerous Shuttle missions that studied the influence of spaceflight on skeletal physiology. He presently is on the scientific advisory board of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, Houston, Texas.

The mechanics of biological tissues is a multidisciplinary and rapidly expanding area of research. This book points to important directions combining mechanical sciences with the new developments in biology. It delivers articles on mechanics of tissues at the molecular, cellular, tissue and organ levels.

The Springer Handbook of Experimental Solid Mechanics documents both the traditional techniques as well as the new methods for experimental studies of materials, components, and structures. The emergence of new materials and new disciplines, together with the escalating use of on- and off-line computers for rapid data processing and the combined use of experimental and numerical techniques have greatly expanded the capabilities of experimental mechanics. New exciting topics are included on biological materials, MEMS and NEMS, nanoindentation, digital photomechanics, photoacoustic characterization, and atomic force microscopy in experimental solid mechanics. Presenting complete instructions to various areas of experimental solid mechanics, guidance to detailed expositions in important references, and a description of state-of-the-art applications in important technical areas, this thoroughly revised and updated edition is an excellent reference to a widespread academic, industrial, and professional engineering audience.

This book portrays the commonality of tissue micro-structure that dictates physiological function in various organs (microstructure-function relation). Tissue and organ models are used to illustrate physiological functions based on microstructure. Fiber scale properties such as orientation and crimp are described in detail. Structurally-based constitutive models are given throughout the book, not only to avoid ambiguities in material characterization, but also to offer insights into the function, structure, and mechanics of tissue components. A statement of future directions of the field is also given, including how advancements, such as state-of-the-art computational modeling and optical measurements of tissue/cells structures, are taking structure-based modeling to the next level. This book also: Provides a comprehensive view of tissue modeling across multiple systems Broadens readers’ understanding of state-of-the-art computational modeling and optical measurements of tissue/cells structures Describes in detail fiber scale properties such as orientation and crimp

This book provides a balanced presentation of the fundamental principles of cardiovascular biomechanics research, as well as its valuable clinical applications. Pursuing an integrated approach at the interface of the life sciences, physics and engineering, it also includes extensive images to explain the concepts discussed. With a focus on explaining the underlying principles, this book examines the physiology and mechanics of circulation, mechanobiology and the biomechanics of different components of the cardiovascular system, in-vivo techniques, in-vitro techniques, and the medical applications of this research. Written for undergraduate and postgraduate students and including sample problems at the end of each chapter, this interdisciplinary text provides an essential introduction to the topic. It is also an ideal reference text for researchers and clinical practitioners, and will benefit a wide range of students and researchers including engineers, physicists, biologists and clinicians who are interested in the area of cardiovascular biomechanics.

Biomechanics is a component of Encyclopedia of Physical Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The enormous progress in the field of health sciences that has been achieved in the 19th and 20th centuries would have not been possible without the enabling interaction and support of sophisticated technologies that progressively gave rise to a new interdisciplinary field named alternatively as bioengineering or biomedical engineering. Although both terms are synonymous, the latter is less general since it limits the field of application to medicine and clinical practice, while the former covers semantically the whole field of interaction between life sciences and engineering, thus including also applications in biology, biochemistry or the many '-omics'. We use in this book the second, with more general meaning, recalling the very important relation between fundamental science and engineering. And this also recognizes the tremendous economic and social impacts of direct application of engineering in medicine that maintains the health industry as one with the fastest growth in the world economy. Biomechanics, in particular, aims to explain and predict the mechanics of the different components of living beings, from molecules to organisms as well as to design, manufacture and use of any artificial device that interacts with the mechanics of living beings. It helps, therefore, to understand how living systems move, to characterize the interaction between forces and deformation along all spatial scales, to analyze the interaction between structural behavior and microstructure, with the very important particularity of dealing with adaptive systems, able to adapt their internal structure, size and geometry to the particular mechanical environment in which they develop their activity, to understand and predict alterations in the mechanical function due to injuries, diseases or pathologies and, finally, to propose methods of artificial intervention for functional diagnosis or recovery. Biomechanics is today a very highly interdisciplinary subject that attracts the attention of engineers, mathematicians, physicists, chemists, material specialists, biologists, medical doctors, etc. They work in many different topics from a purely scientific objective to industrial applications and with an increasing arsenal of sophisticated modeling and experimental tools but always with the final objectives of better understanding the fundamentals of life and improve the quality of life of human beings. One purpose in this volume has been to present an overview of some of these many possible subjects in a self-contained way for a general audience. This volume is aimed at the following major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, and Research Personnel.