Measurement of thermal conductivity of bovine cortical bone.

The thermal conductivity of cortical bone was characterized experimentally. Specimens were taken from the mid-diaphysis of bovine femora, and the rate of heat transfer was measured in three orthogonal directions. The conductivity was found to be 0.58+/-0.018 W/mK in the longitudinal direction, 0.53+/-0.030 W/mK in the circumferential direction, and 0.54+/-0.020 W/mK in the radial direction. Because the directional differences are small, it is concluded that bovine cortical bone can be treated as thermally isotropic.