ABSTRACT

Human tissue, usually organized in three-dimensional space, exhibits strong anisotropies that are often the result of mechanical stimuli. These anisotropies are found on different length scales, as, for example, bone is built up in a hierarchical manner, see Chapter 5, (Lakes, 1993; Rho et al., 1998). The inžuence of gravity on the human body is režected in the bone morphology. The other parts of the musculoskeletal system, however, namely the muscles, tendons, cartilage, and so on, affect the morphology as the individual’s body activates the joints. Finally, nutrition and genetic effects can inžuence the tissue structure and related functionality.