Summary
Animal models have been proposed as an alternative to human spinal specimens for in
vitro mechanical testing due to the limited availability, poor reproducibility, high
cost, and potential health risk associated with human specimens. The purpose of this
study was to directly compare the flexion biomechanics of porcine and human lumbar
spines. We determined the range of motion, laxity zone and the stiffness under pure-moment
flexion loading. The porcine and human specimens showed qualitative similarities in
mechanical behaviour. However the porcine specimens demonstrated a number of quantitative
differences including a less-stiff, more extensive, low-stiffness region around the
neutral position and a larger flexion range of motion. The results suggest that the
porcine lumbar spine may be a potential model for the human lumbar spine for certain
in vitro mechanical tests including comparisons between spinal fixation constructs.
Keywords
Biomechanics - animal model - porcine - human - comparative mechanics - spine - lumbar
spine