An anatomical model for streaming potentials in osteons.

An anatomical model for streaming potentials in osteons is developed to characterize the electromechanical effect in bone. The model accounts for the microstructure of the osteon and is based upon first principles of electrochemistry, electrokinetics, continuum mechanics and fluid dynamics. Intra-osteonal potentials and their relaxation times are numerically evaluated. Many of the previously reported observations of potentials in osteons and across macroscopic specimens are explained for the first time in terms of an electrokinetic model. The cusp-like behavior of intra-osteonal potentials is explained, the dependence of the potentials on solution viscosity and conductivity is demonstrated, and insight is gained relative to the time dependence of stress generated potentials.