Mechanical behavior of skin grafts

Abstract

In this study, the directional dependence of mechanicalproperties of skin grafts of various thicknesses areinvestigated in two directions: longitudinal and transverseaccording to Langer's lines of cleavability.The specimens were tested and evaluated in terms ofmechanical propertiessuch as tensile, ladd-~ycling and stressrelaxation properties. The shrinkages of the actual skins werealso measured shortly after cutting. Histological sectionswere examined to relatethe results with the microstructure.The overall results of the st.udy reveal that the humanskin shows an anisotropy of three dimensions; i.e. itsmechanical properties vary with both directionality andthickness.