Fracture and repair of bone: a multiscale problem

This article reviews current work on the strength and toughness of bone, its mechanisms of fracture and its ability to repair and adapt its structure. These properties are affected at all size levels, from the nanostructure of collagen molecules and mineral crystals, through the microstructure of osteons and trabeculae, up to the macroscopic shape and density variations that occur at the level of a whole bone.