Fontanella Chiara Giulia, Carniel Emanuele Luigi, Frigo Alessandro, Macchi Veronica, Porzionato Andrea, Sarasin Gloria, Rossato Marco, De Caro Raffaele, Natali Arturo N
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo, 3, 35100 Padua, Italy; Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo 9, I-35131 Padova, Italy.
Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo 9, I-35131 Padova, Italy; Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Venezia 1, I-35131 Padova, Italy.
J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2017 Mar;67:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2016.11.024. Epub 2016 Dec 1.
The infrapatellar adipose body (Hoffa's fat pad, IFP) is situated between the patellar tendon, the femoral condyle and the tibial plateau. The IFP consists of lobules of white adipose tissue delimited by thin connective septa. The actual structural functionality of the IFP is debated and should pertain to a cushioning role in the knee joint, providing to distribute and to damp mechanical stresses during articular activity. The present study is aimed to analyze the correlation between histological configuration and mechanical properties of the IFP, compared to other adipose tissues, partially differentiated by composition and conformation. Histological and ultrastructural methods were exploited to analyze the microscopic anatomies of IFP, knee (KSF) and abdominal (ASF) subcutaneous fat tissues. Numerical micro-models of the different tissues were developed by using histo-morphometric data, as the size of adipose lobules, the thickness of the septa and their composition. Numerical analyses made it possible to evaluate the mechanical functionality of the different fat tissues considering the characteristic loading conditions, as compressive and shear actions. The results pointed out the actual mechanical relevance of IFP and KSF, while ASF exhibited different mechanical properties. Furthermore, the contribution of connective septa and adipose lobules to compressive and shear mechanical behavior was elucidated. This preliminary investigation represents the basis for biomechanical interpretation and the definition of more refined model to be developed on the acquisition of additional histological and morphometric data.
髌下脂肪体（霍法脂肪垫，IFP）位于髌腱、股骨髁和胫骨平台之间。IFP由被薄结缔组织间隔分隔的白色脂肪组织小叶组成。IFP的实际结构功能存在争议，其功能应与膝关节的缓冲作用有关，即在关节活动期间起到分散和缓冲机械应力的作用。本研究旨在分析IFP与其他脂肪组织在组织学结构和力学性能之间的相关性，这些脂肪组织在组成和形态上存在部分差异。采用组织学和超微结构方法分析IFP、膝部皮下脂肪组织（KSF）和腹部皮下脂肪组织（ASF）的微观解剖结构。利用组织形态测量数据，如脂肪小叶大小、间隔厚度及其组成，建立了不同组织的数值微观模型。通过考虑压缩和剪切等特征加载条件的数值分析，可以评估不同脂肪组织的力学功能。结果表明IFP和KSF具有实际的力学相关性，而ASF表现出不同的力学性能。此外，还阐明了结缔组织间隔和脂肪小叶对压缩和剪切力学行为的贡献。这项初步研究为生物力学解释以及在获取更多组织学和形态测量数据的基础上开发更精确模型奠定了基础。
