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. "Biomechanics, the science of applying methods and principles of Mechanics to biological tissues and medical problems" 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.