Biomechanics: Principles and Applications

Biomechanics as a scientific activity is not new. Already involved (or so it is said) in its practice were Aristotle (384-327 BC) and Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Recently, however, it has become fashionable as a separate field, as witnessed by the existence of a Journal of Biomechanics (1968), an Interna- tional (1973), a European (1976) and an American (1977) Society of Biomechanics, and an amount of (usually recently erected) Biomechanics Laboratories at Uni- versities or other institutions throughout the world. If one or~anises a Con- ference on Biomechanics, a relatively large number of scientists leave their cubicles or workshops to visit the place of worship. It becomes quickly evident, however, that such a forum for scientific communication is far from being homo- geneous. All are not of the same believe, and the variety in professional inte- rests almost parallels the number of attendants. "e;Biomechanics, the science of applying methods and principles of Mechanics to biological tissues and medical problems"e; is a definition which, in one form or another, has found wide acceptance among biomecanicians. Nevertheless, Bio- mechanics is interwoven and thus often confused with other scientific endeavors. It is colored differently by its many fields of application (e. g. Orthopaedic and Cardio-Vascular Surgery, Dentistry, Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine, Injury Prevention, Sports and others), and the backgrounds of its disciplina- ries. It partly overlaps sciences as Biomaterials, Medical Physics and Biophy- sics, Physiology, and Functional Anatomy.