Acrylic bone cements: mechanical and physical properties.

Mechanical and physical properties are of particular significance for the performance of acrylic bone cement. Several mechanical test methods are described in the literature to characterize the mechanical performance of bone cements. The simulation of the in vivo situation is extremely difficult, however, because of the complex mechanism of loading in the bone. The usefulness of the different mechanical and physical test methods, several results of commercial acrylic bone cements, and the influence of different parameters, such as temperature, test environment, and preparation of specimens on these results are discussed in this article.