Tensile biomechanical characteristics of human meniscus

The meniscus is an indispensable structure for the normal functioning of knee joints. Meniscal tears may cause intense clinical symptoms and predispose the knee to premature joint degeneration. Knowledge of its mechanical characteristics may serve as an experimental basis for future studies on the artificial synthesis of meniscus, the clinical treatment of meniscus injury and finite element modeling of the knee joint. However, few studies have concentrated on the biomechanical properties of human meniscus. The authors performed uniaxial tensile experiments on samples from 20 human menisci using Bose 3330 Mechanical Experimental Machine. As the standard sample, they selected the longitudinal structure of meniscus whose length-to-width ratio was 4:1. Human meniscus is different from general viscoelastic materials. There were different biomechanical parameters inside and outside the ring of the meniscus. The magnitudes of ultimate load, elongation ratio, tensile stress, strain and elastic modulus of the inner ring were less than those in the outer ring. These findings provide the reference values for the parameters expressing the biomechanical characteristics of meniscus in Chinese population and it might be between bone and viscoelastic soft tissues. The medial loop of the meniscus was more prone to injury.