Abstract
Ten dissections of inferior limbs and histological studies were performed to describe the structural conformation of the muscular fascia of the leg (crural fascia) and to propose a constitutive model to be adopted for the analysis of its biomechanical behaviour. The crural fascia had a mean thickness of 924 μm and was composed of three layers (mean thickness 277.6 μm) of parallel, collagen fibre bundles separated by a thin layer of loose connective tissue (mean thickness 43 μm). Only a few elastic fibres were highlighted. The disposition of the collagen fibres gives the crural fascia anisotropic characteristics. In addition, their crimped conformation is the cause of the non-linear elastic behaviour of the tissue. Both these aspects are included in the constitutive model. The constitutive modelling of the crural fascia represents a useful tool to rationally interpret the correlation between functional behaviour and structural conformation.
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Stecco, C., Pavan, P.G., Porzionato, A. et al. Mechanics of crural fascia: from anatomy to constitutive modelling. Surg Radiol Anat 31, 523–529 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-009-0474-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-009-0474-2