Determination of mechanical properties of the bones of the skull

This paper presents the initial results of a research project concerning the mechanism of head injury. In order to begin to define the mechanism, it is necessary to determine mechanical properties of the various skull bones, organize them into constitutive equations, and develop a structural model of the skull.The material presented is concerned primarily with the development of experimental procedures and the results which have been obtained. The specimen-testing program has been split into four parts: (1) The procural of 3/4-in. and 11/2-in.-diam plugs from human skulls at autopsy and the precise determination of specimen location and orientation; (2) the fabrication and strain gaging of small test specimens for basic tension, compression, tension-compression, and shear tests; (3) the conducting of tests; and (4) the correlation of experimental findings with microscopic structure by standard and nonstandard techniques of histology.