[Mechanical characteristics of biological soft tissue]

In a detailed study mechanical properties of tendons, muscles, nerves, blood-vessels and skin of just slaughtered pigs have been investigated in nearly stationary stress tests. Tensile tests have produced tensile strength, ultimate stress and their appropriate strains, Young's modulus and the work up to fatigue of samples. In hysteresis tests the deformation work has been determined as a function of numbers of stress cycles. The hysteresis decrease with the number of stress cycles and approaches asymptotically to cero. By preconditioning of tendons, nerves and blood-vessels to steady state significant differences of strain at tensile strength and of Young's modulus have been established. Moreover for nerves the tests have revealed significant deviations of tensile strength. Bruise tests have been carried out with muscle tissue. For the described setup the limit force can be specified, at which pathological changes appear. Subsequently conducted histological investigations have demonstrated this. In dynamical bruise tests there appeared no pathological changes in muscle tissue in spite of higher transmitted energy.