Back Wolffsches Gesetz German Νόμος του Βολφ Greek Ley de Wolff Spanish قانون ولف Persian 볼프의 법칙 Korean Wet van Wolff Dutch Prawo Wolffa Polish Закон Вольфа (медицина) Russian 沃爾夫定律 Chinese
Wolff's law, developed by the German anatomist and surgeon Julius Wolff (1836–1902) in the 19th century, states that bone in a healthy animal will adapt to the loads under which it is placed.[1] If loading on a particular bone increases, the bone will remodel itself over time to become stronger to resist that sort of loading.[2][3] The internal architecture of the trabeculae undergoes adaptive changes, followed by secondary changes to the external cortical portion of the bone,[4] perhaps becoming thicker as a result. The inverse is true as well: if the loading on a bone decreases, the bone will become less dense and weaker due to the lack of the stimulus required for continued remodeling.[5] This reduction in bone density (osteopenia) is known as stress shielding and can occur as a result of a hip replacement (or other prosthesis).[citation needed] The normal stress on a bone is shielded from that bone by being placed on a prosthetic implant.
- ^ Anahad O'Connor (October 18, 2010). "The Claim: After Being Broken, Bones Can Become Even Stronger . Julius Wolff wrote his treatises on bone after images of bone sections were described by Culmann and von Meyer". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
This concept — that bone adapts to pressure, or a lack of it — is known as Wolff's law. ... there is no evidence that a bone that breaks will heal to be stronger than it was before.
- ^ Frost, HM (1994). "Wolff's Law and bone's structural adaptations to mechanical usage: an overview for clinicians". The Angle Orthodontist. 64 (3): 175–188. PMID 8060014.
- ^ Ruff, Christopher; Holt, Brigitte; Trinkaus, Erik (April 2006). "Who's afraid of the big bad Wolff?: "Wolff's law" and bone functional adaptation". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 129 (4): 484–498. doi:10.1002/ajpa.20371. PMID 16425178.
- ^ Stedman's Medical Dictionary (Wayback Machine PDF)
- ^ Wolff J. "The Law of Bone Remodeling". Berlin Heidelberg New York: Springer, 1986 (translation of the German 1892 edition)