BioMedical Engineering OnLine BioMed Central
Book review Open Access
Review of "Basic Orthopaedic Biomechanics and Mechano-Biology"
3rd Edition, by Van C. Mow and Rik Huiskes
Eduardo Abreu*
Address: Children's Hospital of Boston, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, 300 Longwood Street, Boston MA 02115, USA
Email: Eduardo Abreu* - [email protected]
* Corresponding author
Published: 20 April 2005 Received: 18 April 2005
Accepted: 20 April 2005
BioMedical Engineering OnLine 2005, 4:28 doi:10.1186/1475-925X-4-28
This article is available from: http://www.biomedical-engineering-online.com/content/4/1/28
© 2005 Abreu; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Book details etc. There is also an excellent chapter on biomaterials. The
Mow VC, Huiskes R: chapters are well-written and the figures are informative
Basic Orthopaedic Biomechanics and Mechano-Biology. and of good quality. Each chapter is complemented by an
3rd edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; extensive list of references.
2005. ISBN 0-7817-3933-0. xvi+720 pages. US$110.
An important characteristic of this book is that it can be
This is the third edition of the already well-known book
used by any student or researcher in orthopaedic biome-
"Basic Orthopaedic Biomechanics." In addition to restruc-
chanics, regardless of instructional level or background.
tured chapters, new material reflecting current trends in
Basic concepts are always well explained before they are
the field has been included in this new edition, and
used. For example, in chapter 1 Newton's laws are
"Mechano-Biology" was added to the title. These most
reviewed before the forces involved in the analysis of mus-
appropriate revisions help to make this a book that is at
cle and joint systems are calculated. Being an interdiscipli-
the same time both "classic" and "up-to-date."
nary subject, many times topics in biomechanics make
use of concepts from biology and biochemistry. Whenever
This book begins with a brief history of science and ortho-
such cross-disciplinary ideas present they are well
paedic biomechanics, where the authors discuss how the
explained; for example, proteoglycans in chapter 5 and
conflict and inconsistencies of accepted paradigms are
intracellular signaling pathways in chapter 6.
challenged by new tools and experiments, leading to new
ways of addressing problems in the field. Although there
In summary, this is an excellent book in orthopaedic bio-
are often "titanic" struggles involved in making such par-
mechanics that will greatly benefit all members of the bio-
adigm shifts, conflict is often a necessary first step in the
mechanics community. It can be used as a text for
advancement of knowledge. This book not only presents
beginning and advanced students, as well as a reference
the current knowledge in the field, but also has the objec-
for both students and researchers at all levels, or for those
tive of motivating new questions that could result in
who just want to learn something about biomechanics.
future advances.
An exceptional team of contributing authors collaborated
in writing the various chapters covering different topics in
orthopaedic biomechanics and mechano-biology includ-
ing: analysis of muscle and joint loads, kinematics, bio-
mechanics of musculoskeletal tissues (bone, cartilage,
meniscus, tendons and ligaments), cartilage and bone tis-
sue engineering, spine and artificial joint biomechanics,
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