Ultrasonic analysis of the Youngs modulus of cortical bone.

A pulsed differential ultrasonic technique for the determination of the elastic stiffness coefficients of bone sections in the 'wet' condition, at any required temperature, has been developed. Some preliminary measurements of the Young's modulus of longitudinally oriented mature bovine femur cortical bone sections by this technique gave average values ranging from 23.6 GNm-2 at 17 degrees C to 21.8 GNm-2 at 41 degrees C.