Introduction

Abstract

Biology is the study of living things; mechanics is the study of motions and the applied loads that cause them. Biomechanics can be defined, therefore, as the study of the motions experienced by living things in response to applied loads. Herein, however, we consider that biomechanics is the development, extension, and application of mechanics for the purposes of understanding better the influence of applied loads on the structure, properties, and function of living things and the structures with which they interact. Thus, the domain of biomechanics is very broad. It includes, among many other things, studying the effects of wind loads or gravity on the growth of plants, the mechanical properties of foodstuffs, the flight of birds, the drag-reducing properties of the skin of dolphins, and human athletic performance. Additionally, biomechanics addresses many issues of health as well as disease, injury, and their treatment in both humans and animals. This shall be our primary motivation herein; thus, it is easy to see that biomechanics is fundamental to the rapidly growing field of biomedical engineering.