Biomechanical properties of the human superficial fascia: Site-specific variability and anisotropy of abdominal and thoracic regions.

Autor: Berardo A; Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy; Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy., Bonaldi L; Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy; Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy. Electronic address: lorenza.bonaldi@phd.unipd.it., Stecco C; Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Institute of Human Anatomy, University of Padova, 35121, Padova, Italy., Fontanella CG; Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy; Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials [J Mech Behav Biomed Mater] 2024 Sep; Vol. 157, pp. 106637. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 19.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2024.106637
Abstrakt: Superficial fascia is a fibrofatty tissue found throughout the body. Initially described in relation to hernias, it has only recently received attention from the scientific community due to new evidence on its role in force transmission and structural integrity of the body. Considering initial difficulties in its anatomical identification, to date, a characterization of the superficial fascia through mechanical tests is still lacking. The mechanical properties of human superficial fasciae of abdominal and thoracic districts (back) of different subjects (n = 4) were then investigated, focusing on anisotropy and viscoelasticity. Experimental tests were performed on samples taken in two perpendicular directions according to body planes (cranio-caudal and latero-medial axes). Data collected from two different uniaxial tensile protocols, failure (i.e., ultimate tensile strength and strain at break, Young's modulus and toughness) and stress-relaxation (i.e., residual stress), were processed and then grouped for statistical analysis. Failure tests confirmed tissue anisotropy, revealing the stiffer nature of the latero-medial direction compared to the cranio-caudal one, for both the districts (with a ratio of the respective Young's moduli close to 2). Furthermore, the thoracic region exhibited significantly greater strength and resultant Young's modulus compared to the abdomen (with greater results along the latero-medial direction, such as 6.13 ± 3.11 MPa versus 0.85 ± 0.39 MPa and 24.87 ± 15.23 MPa versus 3.19 ± 1.62 MPa, respectively). On the contrary, both regions displayed similar strain at break (varying between 38 and 47%), with no clear dependence from the loading directions. Stress-relaxation tests highlighted the viscous behavior of the superficial fascia, with no significant differences in the stress decay between directions and districts (35-38% of residual stress after 300 s). All these collected results represent the starting point for a more in-depth knowledge of the mechanical characterization of the superficial fascia, which can have direct implications in the design, implementation, and effectiveness of site-specific treatments.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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