Biomechanics and Mechanobiology

The course "Biomechanics and Mechanobiology" introduces students to biomechanics as the study of movement in living matter at all scales of the human body (from molecules through tissues and organs to the movement of the body itself) and expands the concept of biomechanics to include explanations of processes that maintain physiological homeostasis, such as remodeling and adaptation. Attention is also given to the causes and mechanical contexts of the onset and progression of diseases and their implications for biomechanics, particularly of the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems.

The aim of the course Biomechanics and Mechanobiology is to provide an understanding of the relationship between the mechanical properties of human tissues, processes within organ systems, the causes of certain diseases, and their mechanical consequences (body movement and muscle contraction, blood flow, the development of atherosclerosis and the onset of hypertension, inflammation, and cell movement).

The course concludes with an exam, which consists of a presentation on a selected topic and a discussion of it.

Students must attend 80% of the class sessions and prepare a presentation, which we will discuss during the exam. Students will choose their own presentation topic from a list that will be posted in the second half of the course.

• Taber LA (2020) Continuum Modeling in Mechanobiology. Springer Cham.
• Pivonka P (2018) Multiscale Mechanobiology of Bone Remodeling and Adaptation. Springer Cham.

lectures and practises