The elastic properties of trabecular and cortical bone tissues are similar: results from two microscopic measurement techniques

Acoustic microscopy (30–60 μm resolution) and nanoindentation (1–5 μm resolution) are techniques that can be used to evaluate the elastic properties of human bone at a microstructural level. The goals of the current study were (1) to measure and compare the Young’s moduli of trabecular and cortical bone tissues from a common human donor, and (2) to compare the Young’s moduli of bone tissue measured using acoustic microscopy to those measured using nanoindentation. The Young’s modulus of cortical bone in the longitudinal direction was about 40% greater than ( p