The tearing strength of glutaraldehyde fixed bovine pericardium

Destructive uniaxial load tests were performed on bovine pericardium that had been chemically modified by glutaraldehyde fixation. To investigate the tearing strength of this tissue, an artificial tear, in the form of a 2mm notch, was introduced into the test specimens. Specimens without a notch, harvested from the same sites in the pericardial sac but from different sacs, were used as controls. A video system with zoom and lens magnification facilities combined with low power oblique illumination was used to observe the events leading to tissue failure. Analysis of variance demonstrated that there was no overall significant difference in tensile strength or percentage strain at fracture between the test specimens with a tear and the control specimens without a tear. Rupture of the tissue occurred following laminate debonding by shear and fibre slippage through the viscous ground matrix.