Mechanical hysteresis loops from single osteons: technical devices and preliminary results.

The purpose of this paper is to describe an original apparatus for recording hysteresis loops from single osteons and a special microgrinding lathe for preparing osteonic samples for testing. The results obtained by testing isolated osteons, and composite bone samples ground to the same size as an osteon sample justify one to draw the following main conclusions: at an equal degree of calcification, longitudinal osteons show larger hysteresis loops under compression and alternate osteons show larger hysteresis loops under tension; there seems to be little chance of acquiring detailed information on the mechanical effects of osteon calcification recording hysteresis loops; collagen orientation in lamellae is the main factor determining the kind of hysteresis loops displayed by a composite bone sample.