In vitro performance of installed internal fixation plates in compression

This paper deals with the performance of current designs of bone fixation plates, mountedon the anterior surface of fractued equine third metacarpale and tested in uniaxial compression. A full factorial experimental design on three variables, plate length, plate width, and fasterner size provided 27 different variations of the basic design. No replicate ests were conducted. All loads were normalized on mid‐shaft done gemetry and compared to he ultimate compressive strength that could be expected of a similar bone of the same age. No capacities above 33% of the strength of an unfractured bone were observed.