The fibrous structure of bone determined by x-ray diffraction.

The fibrous structure of both primary and secondary type cortical bone is determined. The three dimensional fibrous orientation is expressed quantitatively by pole figures of the (002) diffraction. Whilst both types of bone exhibit one major axis of fibrous orientation which is aligned on average with the long axis of the femur, primary type bone exhibits a planar orientation which is consistent with a fibrous spread within the laminations but not from one lamination to the next. Secondary type bone exhibits a degree of preferred orientation with rotational symmetry about the main fibre axis.