Tensile Yield Strain of Human Cortical Bone from the Femoral Diaphysis Is Constant among Healthy Adults and across the Anatomical Quadrants

The literature suggests that the yield strain of cortical bone is invariant to its stiffness (elastic modulus) and strength (yield stress). However, data about intra-individual variations, e.g., the influence of different collagen/mineral organisations observed in bone aspects withstanding different habitual loads, are lacking. The hypothesis that the yield strain of human cortical bone tissue, retrieved from femoral diaphyseal quadrants subjected to different habitual loads, is invariant was tested. Four flat dumbbell-shaped specimens were machined from each quadrant of the proximal femoral diaphysis of five adult donors for a total of 80 specimens. Two extensometers attached to the narrow specimen region were used to measure deformation during monotonic tensile testing. The elastic modulus (linear part of the stress–strain curve) and yield strain/stress at a 0.2% offset were obtained. Elastic modulus and yield stress values were, respectively, in the range of 12.2–20.5 GPa and 75.9–136.6 MPa and exhibited a positive linear correlation. All yield strain values were in the narrow range of 0.77–0.87%, regardless of the stiffness and strength of the tissue and the anatomical quadrant. In summary, the results corroborate the hypothesis that tensile yield strain in cortical bone is invariant, irrespective also of the anatomical quadrant. The mean yield strain value found in this study is similar to what was reported by inter-species and evolution studies but slightly higher than previous reports in humans, possibly because of the younger age of our subjects. Further investigations are needed to elucidate a possible dependence of yield strain on age.