Abstract :
This article reviews current work on the
strength and toughness of bone, its mechanisms of fracture
and its ability to repair and adapt its structure. These
properties are affected at all size levels, from the nanostructure
of collagen molecules and mineral crystals,
through the microstructure of osteons and trabeculae, up to
the macroscopic shape and density variations that occur at
the level of a whole bone.
