Bone resorption induced by fluid flow.

A model where bone resorption is driven by stimulus from fluid flow is developed and used as a basis for computer simulations, which are compared with experiments. Models for bone remodeling are usually based on the state of stress, strain, or energy density of the bone tissue as the stimulus for remodeling. We believe that there is experimental support for an additional pathway, where an increase in the amount of osteoclasts, and thus osteolysis, is caused by the time history of fluid flow velocity, fluid pressure, or other parameters related to fluid flow at the bone/soft tissue interface of the porosities in the bone.