Fatigue fracture of human lumbar vertebrae.

Fatigue fracture of human lumbar vertebrae under cyclic axial compressive load is investigated between 1 and 5000 load cycles and for load magnitudes between 30 and 70% of the ultimate compressive strength of human lumbar vertebrae. In addition, it is shown that the ultimate compressive strength of human lumbar vertebrae can be predicted from trabecular bone density determined by quantitative computed tomography in combination with a measurement of the area of the vertebral end plate.