Citation

Haut RC, Atkinson PJ. Proc. Stapp Car Crash Conf. 1995; 39: 281-294.

Affiliation

Michigan State University

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, Society of Automotive Engineers SAE)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The primary objectives of the current study were to conduct fracture and subfracture experiments on 'aged' and 'young' human knee joints to investigate the influence of age on fracture load tolerance and examine each type of joint for the frequency of occult injury. Specifically, we hypothesized: 1) the fracture load of 'aged' human cadaver knees would be greater than 'young' cadavers; 2) subfracture blunt insult to the aged knee would produce fewer incidences of occult microcracks in the calcified cartilage and/or subchondral bone than young specimens with an intact layer of cartillage; 3) intraarticular pressures would not exceed 25 MPa; 4) the stiffness of the knee would be related to the presence or absence of articular cartilage in the patellofemoral joint.