Biomaterial Database

[Area of contact between osteosynthesis plate and bone in internal fixation (author's transl)]. 1980

U Lüthi, and B A Rahn, and S M Perren

The bone can be protected against excessive stress if the plate is properly adapted to the surface of the contact area between plate and bone, thus ensuring good and longlasting repositioning of the fracture. The article describes an in-vitro method for the quantitative evaluation of the contact area between plate and bone in osteosynthesis. With four different bones and the requisite plates, six expert surgeons were able to obtain an area of contact between plate and bone which varied between 13 and 60%, the average being 32%. The available data allow us to conclude that the peak loads of pressure occurring with small contact areas may be so great that they exceed the maximum compressive strength of the bone.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D001842	Bone and Bones	A specialized CONNECTIVE TISSUE that is the main constituent of the SKELETON. The principal cellular component of bone is comprised of OSTEOBLASTS; OSTEOCYTES; and OSTEOCLASTS, while FIBRILLAR COLLAGENS and hydroxyapatite crystals form the BONE MATRIX.	Bone Tissue,Bone and Bone,Bone,Bones,Bones and Bone,Bones and Bone Tissue,Bony Apophyses,Bony Apophysis,Condyle,Apophyses, Bony,Apophysis, Bony,Bone Tissues,Condyles,Tissue, Bone,Tissues, Bone
D001860	Bone Plates	Implantable fracture fixation devices attached to bone fragments with screws to bridge the fracture gap and shield the fracture site from stress as bone heals. (UMDNS, 1999)	Bone Plate,Plate, Bone,Plates, Bone
D005593	Fracture Fixation, Internal	The use of internal devices (metal plates, nails, rods, etc.) to hold the position of a fracture in proper alignment.	Osteosynthesis, Fracture,Fixation, Internal Fracture,Fixations, Internal Fracture,Fracture Fixations, Internal,Fracture Osteosyntheses,Fracture Osteosynthesis,Internal Fracture Fixation,Internal Fracture Fixations,Osteosyntheses, Fracture
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D013314	Stress, Mechanical	A purely physical condition which exists within any material because of strain or deformation by external forces or by non-uniform thermal expansion; expressed quantitatively in units of force per unit area.	Mechanical Stress,Mechanical Stresses,Stresses, Mechanical