Testing the utility of porcine and synthetic femora as nonhuman analogs in skeletal trauma research

Abstract

Porcine and synthetic femora were subjected to concentrated 4-point bending, modified 4-point bending, and 3-point bending to generate diaphyseal fractures. Biomechanical data and fracture patterns were systematically evaluated and compared across different femur types and loading conditions. Biomechanical and fracture data from Isa et al. [11] were employed as a comparative human sample. Loading condition did not significantly affect mechanical behavior or fracture type in porcine femora and had limited effects on synthetic femora. Further, the results of the concentrated 4-point bending tests on porcine and synthetic femora were compared to published data on human femora subjected to the same loading condition. Although some similarities in fracture type outcomes were observed between porcine and human femora, these similarities do not outweigh the substantial differences between species in detailed fracture patterning. These results suggest that neither porcine nor synthetic femora adequately replicate human fracture patterns and thus are inappropriate analogs for understanding long bone fracture patterns relevant to forensic anthropology casework. Although nonhuman analogs are commonly used in experimental trauma research, additional studies are needed to investigate the appropriateness of these analogs for modeling specific types of skeletal trauma.