Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
When an implant is placed into bone, an interface is created. This interface has a critical biomechanical function: it must support the implant in bone. However, failure of implant fixation (i.e., implant “loosening”), continues to be a leading cause of implant failure [1,2]. While there are a number of factors involved in this problem, it is recognized that biomechanical factors play a role, and this paper reviews the more important factors, including relative motion and interfacial stresses and strains. Also, it presents results from a recent in vivo experiment on controlled loading of an interface.