Measurement of local strains in intervertebral disc anulus fibrosus tissue under dynamic shear: contributions of matrix fiber orientation and elastin content.

ABSTRACT: Shear strain has been implicated as an initiator of intervertebral disc anulus failure, however a clear, multi-scale picture of how shear strain affects the tissue microstructure has been lacking. The purposes of this study were to measure microscale deformations in anulus tissue under dynamic shear in two orientations, and to determine the role of elastin in regulating these deformations. Bovine AF tissue was simultaneously shear loaded and imaged using confocal microscopy following either a buffer or elastase treatment. Digital image analysis was used to track through time local shear strains in specimens sheared transversely, and stretch and rotation of collagen fiber bundles in specimens sheared circumferentially. The results of this study suggest that sliding does not occur between AF

SUBMITTER: Michalek AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2757465 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature