Wikipedia

Biomechanics

Biomechanicsis the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from wholeorganismstoorgans,cellsandcell organelles,[1]using the methods ofmechanics.[2]Biomechanics is a branch ofbiophysics.

Page of one of the first works of Biomechanics (De Motu AnimaliumofGiovanni Alfonso Borelli) in the 17th century

Today computational mechanics goes far beyond pure mechanics, and involves other physical actions: chemistry, heat and mass transfer, electric and magnetic stimuli and many others.

Etymology

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The word "biomechanics" (1899) and the related "biomechanical" (1856) come from theAncient Greekβίοςbios"life" and μηχανική,mēchanikē"mechanics", to refer to the study of the mechanical principles of living organisms, particularly their movement and structure.[3]

Subfields

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Biofluid mechanics

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Red blood cells

Biological fluid mechanics, or biofluid mechanics, is the study of both gas and liquid fluid flows in or around biological organisms. An often studied liquid biofluid problem is that of blood flow in the human cardiovascular system. Under certain mathematical circumstances,bloodflow can be modeled by theNavier–Stokes equations.In vivowhole bloodis assumed to be an incompressibleNewtonian fluid.However, this assumption fails when considering forward flow withinarterioles.At the microscopic scale, the effects of individualred blood cellsbecome significant, and whole blood can no longer be modeled as a continuum. When the diameter of the blood vessel is just slightly larger than the diameter of the red blood cell theFahraeus–Lindquist effectoccurs and there is a decrease in wallshear stress.However, as the diameter of the blood vessel decreases further, the red blood cells have to squeeze through the vessel and often can only pass in a single file. In this case, the inverse Fahraeus–Lindquist effect occurs and the wall shear stress increases.

An example of a gaseous biofluids problem is that of human respiration. Recently, respiratory systems in insects have been studied forbioinspirationfor designing improved microfluidic devices.[4]

Biotribology

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Biotribology is the study offriction,wearandlubricationof biological systems, especially human joints such as hips and knees.[5][6]In general, these processes are studied in the context ofcontact mechanicsandtribology.

Additional aspects of biotribology include analysis of subsurface damage resulting from two surfaces coming in contact during motion, i.e. rubbing against each other, such as in the evaluation of tissue-engineered cartilage.[7]

Comparative biomechanics

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Chinstrap penguinleaping over water

Comparative biomechanics is the application of biomechanics to non-human organisms, whether used to gain greater insights into humans (as inphysical anthropology) or into the functions, ecology and adaptations of the organisms themselves. Common areas of investigation areAnimal locomotionandfeeding,as these have strong connections to the organism'sfitnessand impose high mechanical demands. Animal locomotion, has many manifestations, includingrunning,jumpingandflying.Locomotion requiresenergyto overcomefriction,drag,inertia,andgravity,though which factor predominates varies with environment.[citation needed]

Comparative biomechanics overlaps strongly with many other fields, includingecology,neurobiology,developmental biology,ethology,andpaleontology,to the extent of commonly publishing papers in the journals of these other fields. Comparative biomechanics is often applied in medicine (with regards to common model organisms such as mice and rats) as well as inbiomimetics,which looks to nature for solutions to engineering problems.[citation needed]

Computational biomechanics

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Computational biomechanics is the application of engineering computational tools, such as theFinite element methodto study the mechanics of biological systems. Computational models and simulations are used to predict the relationship between parameters that are otherwise challenging to test experimentally, or used to design more relevant experiments reducing the time and costs of experiments. Mechanical modeling using finite element analysis has been used to interpret the experimental observation of plant cell growth to understand how they differentiate, for instance.[8]In medicine, over the past decade, theFinite element methodhas become an established alternative toin vivosurgical assessment. One of the main advantages of computational biomechanics lies in its ability to determine the endo-anatomical response of an anatomy, without being subject to ethical restrictions.[9]This has led FE modeling (or other discretization techniques) to the point of becoming ubiquitous in several fields of Biomechanics while several projects have even adopted an open source philosophy (e.g., BioSpine)[10]and SOniCS, as well as the SOFA, FEniCS frameworks and FEBio.

Computational biomechanics is an essential ingredient in surgical simulation, which is used for surgical planning, assistance, and training. In this case, numerical (discretization) methods are used to compute, as fast as possible, a system's response to boundary conditions such as forces, heat and mass transfer, and electrical and magnetic stimuli.

Continuum biomechanics

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The mechanical analysis ofbiomaterialsand biofluids is usually carried forth with the concepts ofcontinuum mechanics.This assumption breaks down when thelength scalesof interest approach the order of the microstructural details of the material. One of the most remarkable characteristics of biomaterials is theirhierarchicalstructure. In other words, the mechanical characteristics of these materials rely on physical phenomena occurring in multiple levels, from themolecularall the way up to thetissueandorganlevels.[citation needed]

Biomaterials are classified into two groups: hard andsoft tissues.Mechanical deformation of hard tissues (likewood,shellandbone) may be analysed with the theory oflinear elasticity.On the other hand, soft tissues (likeskin,tendon,muscle,andcartilage) usually undergo large deformations, and thus, their analysis relies on thefinite strain theoryandcomputer simulations.The interest in continuum biomechanics is spurred by the need for realism in the development of medical simulation.[11]: 568 

Neuromechanics

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Neuromechanicsuses a biomechanical approach to better understand how the brain and nervous system interact to control the body. During motor tasks, motor units activate a set of muscles to perform a specific movement, which can be modified via motor adaptation and learning. In recent years, neuromechanical experiments have been enabled by combining motion capture tools with neural recordings.

Plant biomechanics

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The application of biomechanical principles to plants, plant organs and cells has developed into the subfield of plant biomechanics.[12]Application of biomechanics for plants ranges from studying the resilience of crops to environmental stress[13]to development and morphogenesis at cell and tissue scale, overlapping withmechanobiology.[8]

Sports biomechanics

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Main article:Sports biomechanics

In sports biomechanics, the laws of mechanics are applied to human movement in order to gain a greater understanding of athletic performance and to reducesport injuriesas well. It focuses on the application of the scientific principles of mechanical physics to understand movements of action of human bodies and sports implements such as cricket bat, hockey stick and javelin etc. Elements ofmechanical engineering(e.g.,strain gauges),electrical engineering(e.g.,digital filtering),computer science(e.g.,numerical methods),gait analysis(e.g.,force platforms), andclinical neurophysiology(e.g.,surface EMG) are common methods used in sports biomechanics.[14]

Biomechanics in sports can be stated as the body's muscular, joint, and skeletal actions while executing a given task, skill, or technique. Understanding biomechanics relating to sports skills has the greatest implications on sports performance, rehabilitation and injury prevention, and sports mastery. As noted by Doctor Michael Yessis, one could say that best athlete is the one that executes his or her skill the best.[15]

Vascular biomechanics

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The main topics of the vascular biomechanics is the description of the mechanical behaviour of vascular tissues.

It is well known that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.[16]Vascular system in the human body is the main component that is supposed to maintain pressure and allow for blood flow and chemical exchanges. Studying the mechanical properties of these complex tissues improves the possibility of better understanding cardiovascular diseases and drastically improves personalized medicine.

Vascular tissues are inhomogeneous with a strongly non linear behaviour. Generally this study involves complex geometry with intricate load conditions and material properties. The correct description of these mechanisms is based on the study of physiology and biological interaction. Therefore, is necessary to study wall mechanics and hemodynamics with their interaction.

It is also necessary to premise that the vascular wall is a dynamic structure in continuous evolution. This evolution directly follows the chemical and mechanical environment in which the tissues are immersed like Wall Shear Stress or biochemical signaling.

Immunomechanics

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The emerging field of immunomechanics focuses on characterising mechanical properties of the immune cells and their functional relevance. Mechanics of immune cells can be characterised using various force spectroscopy approaches such as acoustic force spectroscopy and optical tweezers, and these measurements can be performed at physiological conditions (e.g. temperature).[17]Furthermore, one can study the link between immune cell mechanics and immunometabolism and immune signalling. The term "immunomechanics" is some times interchangeably used with immune cell mechanobiology or cell mechanoimmunology.

Other applied subfields of biomechanics include

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History

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Antiquity

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Aristotle, a student of Plato, can be considered the first bio-mechanic because of his work with animal anatomy.Aristotlewrote the first book on the motion of animals,De Motu Animalium,orOn the Movement of Animals.[18]He saw animal's bodies as mechanical systems, pursued questions such as the physiological difference between imagining performing an action and actual performance.[19]In another work,On the Parts of Animals,he provided an accurate description of how theureterusesperistalsisto carry urine from thekidneysto thebladder.[11]: 2 

With the rise of theRoman Empire,technology became more popular than philosophy and the next bio-mechanic arose.Galen(129 AD-210 AD), physician toMarcus Aurelius,wrote his famous work, On the Function of the Parts (about the human body). This would be the world's standard medical book for the next 1,400 years.[20]

Renaissance

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The next major biomechanic would not be around until the 1490s, with the studies of human anatomy and biomechanics byLeonardo da Vinci.He had a great understanding of science and mechanics and studied anatomy in a mechanics context. He analyzed muscle forces and movements and studied joint functions. These studies could be considered studies in the realm of biomechanics.Leonardo da Vincistudied anatomy in the context of mechanics. He analyzed muscle forces as acting along lines connecting origins and insertions, and studied joint function. Da Vinci is also known for mimicking some animal features in his machines. For example, he studied the flight of birds to find means by which humans could fly; and because horses were the principal source of mechanical power in that time, he studied their muscular systems to design machines that would better benefit from the forces applied by this animal.[21]

In 1543, Galen's work, On the Function of the Parts was challenged byAndreas Vesaliusat the age of 29. Vesalius published his own work called, On the Structure of the Human Body. In this work, Vesalius corrected many errors made by Galen, which would not be globally accepted for many centuries. With the death of Copernicus came a new desire to understand and learn about the world around people and how it works. On his deathbed, he published his work, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. This work not only revolutionized science and physics, but also the development of mechanics and later bio-mechanics.[20]

Galileo Galilei,the father of mechanics and part time biomechanic was born 21 years after the death ofCopernicus.Over his years of science, Galileo made a lot of biomechanical aspects known. For example, he discovered that "animals' masses increase disproportionately to their size, and their bones must consequently also disproportionately increase in girth, adapting to loadbearing rather than mere size. The bending strength of a tubular structure such as a bone is increased relative to its weight by making it hollow and increasing its diameter. Marine animals can be larger than terrestrial animals because the water's buoyancy relieves their tissues of weight."[20]

Galileo Galileiwas interested in the strength of bones and suggested that bones are hollow because this affords maximum strength with minimum weight. He noted that animals' bone masses increased disproportionately to their size. Consequently, bones must also increase disproportionately in girth rather than mere size. This is because the bending strength of a tubular structure (such as a bone) is much more efficient relative to its weight. Mason suggests that this insight was one of the first grasps of the principles ofbiological optimization.[21]

In the 17th century,Descartessuggested a philosophic system whereby all living systems, including the human body (but not the soul), are simply machines ruled by the same mechanical laws, an idea that did much to promote and sustain biomechanical study.

Industrial era

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The next major bio-mechanic,Giovanni Alfonso Borelli,embraced Descartes' mechanical philosophy and studied walking, running, jumping, the flight of birds, the swimming of fish, and even the piston action of the heart within a mechanical framework. He could determine the position of the humancenter of gravity,calculate and measure inspired and expired air volumes, and he showed that inspiration is muscle-driven and expiration is due to tissue elasticity.

Borelli was the first to understand that "the levers of the musculature system magnify motion rather than force, so that muscles must produce much larger forces than those resisting the motion".[20]Influenced by the work of Galileo, whom he personally knew, he had an intuitive understanding of static equilibrium in various joints of the human body well beforeNewtonpublished the laws of motion.[22]His work is often considered the most important in the history of bio-mechanics because he made so many new discoveries that opened the way for the future generations to continue his work and studies.

It was many years after Borelli before the field of bio-mechanics made any major leaps. After that time, more and more scientists took to learning about the human body and its functions. There are not many notable scientists from the 19th or 20th century in bio-mechanics because the field is far too vast now to attribute one thing to one person. However, the field is continuing to grow every year and continues to make advances in discovering more about the human body. Because the field became so popular, many institutions and labs have opened over the last century and people continue doing research. With the Creation of the American Society of Bio-mechanics in 1977, the field continues to grow and make many new discoveries.[20]

In the 19th centuryÉtienne-Jules Mareyusedcinematographyto scientifically investigatelocomotion.He opened the field of modern 'motion analysis' by being the first to correlate ground reaction forces with movement. In Germany, the brothersErnst Heinrich WeberandWilhelm Eduard Weberhypothesized a great deal about human gait, but it wasChristian Wilhelm Braunewho significantly advanced the science using recent advances in engineering mechanics. During the same period, the engineeringmechanics of materialsbegan to flourish in France and Germany under the demands of theIndustrial Revolution.This led to the rebirth of bone biomechanics when therailroad engineerKarl Culmannand the anatomistHermann von Meyercompared the stress patterns in a human femur with those in a similarly shaped crane. Inspired by this findingJulius Wolffproposed the famousWolff's lawofbone remodeling.[23]

Applications

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The study of biomechanics ranges from the inner workings of a cell to the movement and development oflimbs,to the mechanical properties ofsoft tissue,[7]andbones.Some simple examples of biomechanics research include the investigation of the forces that act on limbs, theaerodynamicsofbirdandinsectflight,thehydrodynamicsofswimminginfish,andlocomotionin general across all forms of life, from individual cells to wholeorganisms.With growing understanding of the physiological behavior of living tissues, researchers are able to advance the field oftissue engineering,as well as develop improved treatments for a wide array ofpathologiesincluding cancer.[24][citation needed]

Biomechanics is also applied to studying human musculoskeletal systems. Such research utilizes force platforms to study human ground reaction forces and infrared videography tocapturethe trajectories of markers attached to the human body to study human 3D motion. Research also applieselectromyographyto study muscle activation, investigating muscle responses to external forces and perturbations.[25]

Biomechanics is widely used in orthopedic industry to design orthopedic implants for human joints, dental parts, external fixations and other medical purposes. Biotribology is a very important part of it. It is a study of the performance and function of biomaterials used for orthopedic implants. It plays a vital role to improve the design and produce successful biomaterials for medical and clinical purposes. One such example is in tissue engineered cartilage.[7]The dynamic loading of joints considered as impact is discussed in detail by Emanuel Willert.[26]

It is also tied to the field ofengineering,because it often uses traditional engineering sciences to analyzebiological systems.Some simple applications ofNewtonian mechanicsand/ormaterials sciencescan supply correct approximations to the mechanics of manybiological systems.Applied mechanics, most notablymechanical engineeringdisciplines such ascontinuum mechanics,mechanismanalysis,structuralanalysis,kinematicsanddynamicsplay prominent roles in the study of biomechanics.[27]

Aribosomeis abiological machinethat utilizesprotein dynamics

Usually biological systems are much more complex than man-built systems.Numerical methodsare hence applied in almost every biomechanical study. Research is done in an iterative process of hypothesis and verification, including several steps ofmodeling,computer simulationandexperimental measurements.

See also

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References

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  1. ^R. McNeill Alexander(2005)Mechanics of animal movement,Current BiologyVolume 15, Issue 16, 23 August 2005, Pages R616-R619.doi:10.1016/j.cub.2005.08.016
  2. ^Hatze, Herbert (1974). "The meaning of the term biomechanics".Journal of Biomechanics.7(12): 189–190.doi:10.1016/0021-9290(74)90060-8.PMID4837555.
  3. ^Oxford English Dictionary,Third Edition, November 2010,s.vv.
  4. ^Aboelkassem, Yasser (2013). "Selective pumping in a network: insect-style microscale flow transport".Bioinspiration & Biomimetics.8(2): 026004.Bibcode:2013BiBi....8b6004A.doi:10.1088/1748-3182/8/2/026004.PMID23538838.S2CID34495501.
  5. ^Davim, J. Paulo (2013).Biotribology.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN978-1-118-61705-2.
  6. ^Ostermeyer, Georg-Peter; Popov, Valentin L.; Shilko, Evgeny V.; Vasiljeva, Olga S., eds. (2021)."Multiscale Biomechanics and Tribology of Inorganic and Organic Systems".Springer Tracts in Mechanical Engineering.doi:10.1007/978-3-030-60124-9.ISBN978-3-030-60123-2.ISSN2195-9862.
  7. ^abcWhitney, G. A.; Jayaraman, K.; Dennis, J. E.; Mansour, J. M. (2014)."Scaffold-free cartilage subjected to frictional shear stress demonstrates damage by cracking and surface peeling".J Tissue Eng Regen Med.11(2): 412–424.doi:10.1002/term.1925.PMC4641823.PMID24965503.
  8. ^abBidhendi, Amir J; Geitmann, Anja (January 2018)."Finite element modeling of shape changes in plant cells".Plant Physiology.176(1): 41–56.doi:10.1104/pp.17.01684.PMC5761827.PMID29229695.
  9. ^Tsouknidas, Alexander; Savvakis, Savvas; Asaniotis, Yiannis; Anagnostidis, Kleovoulos; Lontos, Antonios; Michailidis, Nikolaos (November 2013)."The effect of kyphoplasty parameters on the dynamic load transfer within the lumbar spine considering the response of a bio-realistic spine segment".Clinical Biomechanics.28(9–10): 949–955.doi:10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2013.09.013.
  10. ^"Computational Biomechanics – BLOGS".Archived fromthe originalon 4 April 2022.Retrieved26 October2021.
  11. ^abFung 1993
  12. ^Niklas, Karl J. (1992).Plant Biomechanics: An Engineering Approach to Plant Form and Function(1 ed.). New York, NY: University of Chicago Press. p.622.ISBN978-0-226-58631-1.
  13. ^Forell, G. V.; Robertson, D.; Lee, S. Y.; Cook, D. D. (2015)."Preventing lodging in bioenergy crops: a biomechanical analysis of maize stalks suggests a new approach".J Exp Bot.66(14): 4367–4371.doi:10.1093/jxb/erv108.PMID25873674.
  14. ^Bartlett, Roger (1997).Introduction to sports biomechanics(1 ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. p. 304.ISBN978-0-419-20840-2.
  15. ^Michael Yessis (2008).Secrets of Russian Sports Fitness & Training.ISBN978-0-9817180-2-6.
  16. ^"The top 10 causes of death".World Health Organization.WHO.
  17. ^Evers, Tom M.J.; van Weverwijk, Antoinette; de Visser, Karin E.; Mashaghi, Alireza (2024)."Single-cell analysis of innate immune cell mechanics: an application to cancer immunology".Materials Advances.5(12): 5025–5035.doi:10.1039/D3MA01107K.
  18. ^Abernethy, Bruce; Vaughan Kippers; Stephanie J. Hanrahan; Marcus G. Pandy; Alison M. McManus; Laurel MacKinnon (2013).Biophysical foundations of human movement(3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. p. 84.ISBN978-1-4504-3165-1.
  19. ^Martin, R. Bruce (23 October 1999)."A genealogy of biomechanics".Presidential Lecture presented at the 23rd Annual Conference of the American Society of Biomechanics University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA.Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2013.Retrieved2 January2014.
  20. ^abcde"American Society of Biomechanics » The Original Biomechanists".www.asbweb.org.Retrieved25 October2017.
  21. ^abMason, Stephen (1962).A History of the Sciences.New York, NY: Collier Books. p.550.
  22. ^Humphrey, Jay D. (2003). The Royal Society (ed.). "Continuum biomechanics of soft biological tissues".Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A.459(2029): 3–46.Bibcode:2003RSPSA.459....3H.doi:10.1098/rspa.2002.1060.S2CID108637580.
  23. ^R. Bruce Martin (23 October 1999)."A Genealogy of Biomechanics".23rd Annual Conference of the American Society of Biomechanics. Archived fromthe originalon 17 September 2010.Retrieved13 October2010.
  24. ^Nia, H.T.; et al. (2017)."Solid stress and elastic energy as measures of tumour mechanopathology".Nature Biomedical Engineering.004:0004.doi:10.1038/s41551-016-0004.PMC5621647.PMID28966873.
  25. ^Basmajian, J.V, & DeLuca, C.J. (1985) Muscles Alive: Their Functions Revealed, Fifth edition. Williams & Wilkins.
  26. ^Willert, Emanuel (2020).Stoßprobleme in Physik, Technik und Medizin: Grundlagen und Anwendungen(in German). Springer Vieweg.
  27. ^Holzapfel, Gerhard A.; Ogden, Ray W. (2009).Biomechanical Modelling at the Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Levels.Springer Science & Business Media. p. 75.ISBN978-3-211-95875-9.

Further reading

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  • Cowin, Stephen C., ed. (2008).Bone mechanics handbook(2nd ed.). New York: Informa Healthcare.ISBN978-0-8493-9117-0.
  • Fischer-Cripps, Anthony C. (2007).Introduction to contact mechanics(2nd ed.). New York: Springer.ISBN978-0-387-68187-0.
  • Fung, Y.-C. (1993).Biomechanics: Mechanical Properties of Living Tissues.New York: Springer-Verlag.ISBN978-0-387-97947-2.
  • Gurtin, Morton E. (1995).An introduction to continuum mechanics(6 ed.). San Diego: Acad. Press.ISBN978-0-12-309750-7.
  • Humphrey, Jay D. (2002).Cardiovascular solid mechanics: cells, tissues, and organs.New York: Springer.ISBN978-0-387-95168-3.
  • Mazumdar, Jagan N. (1993).Biofluids mechanics(Reprint 1998. ed.). Singapore: World Scientific.ISBN978-981-02-0927-8.
  • Mow, Van C.; Huiskes, Rik, eds. (2005).Basic orthopaedic biomechanics & mechano-biology(3 ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 2.ISBN978-0-7817-3933-7.
  • Peterson, Donald R.; Bronzino, Joseph D., eds. (2008).Biomechanics: principles and applications(2. rev. ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press.ISBN978-0-8493-8534-6.
  • Temenoff, J.S.; Mikos, A.G. (2008).Biomaterials: the Intersection of biology and materials science(Internat. ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall.ISBN978-0-13-009710-1.
  • Totten, George E.;Liang, Hong,eds. (2004).Mechanical tribology: materials, characterization, and applications.New York: Marcel Dekker.ISBN978-0-8247-4873-9.
  • Waite, Lee; Fine, Jerry (2007).Applied biofluid mechanics.New York: McGraw-Hill.ISBN978-0-07-147217-3.
  • Young, Donald F.; Bruce R. Munson; Theodore H. Okiishi (2004).A brief introduction to fluid mechanics(3rd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.ISBN978-0-471-45757-2.
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