Sub-lamellar microcracking and roles of canaliculi in human cortical bone

Bone is a tough biological material. It is generally accepted that bone’s toughness arises from its unique hierarchical structure, which in turn facilitates distributed microcracking prior to fracture. Yet, there has been limited progress on the detailed roles of the structural elements in the microcracking process. The present study examines the structure–microcracking relations at the lamellar and sub-lamellar levels of human cortical bone subjected to compressive loading. Laser scanning confocal microscopy revealed a clear influence of the local structure and porosity of the Haversian systems’ lamellae on microcrack development. In particular, crack initiation and growth under transverse compression were associated with stress concentration at canaliculi. Later stages of microcracking showed extensive sub-lamellar cracks forming cross-hatched patterns and regularly spaced 0.5–1.7 μm apart. The density, size and regularity of the crack patterns suggest enhanced inelastic deformation capacity through cracking control at the level of mineralized collagen fibril bundles. The present study thus improves the current understanding of the nature of inelastic deformation and microcracking in bone and further suggests that bone’s resistance to fracture is achieved through microcrack control at multiple length scales.