J Mech Behav Biomed Mater
January 2021
A variety of biochemical and physical processes participate in the creation and maintenance of collagen in biological tissue. Under mechanical stimuli these collagen fibers undergo continuous processes of morphoelastic change. The model presented here is motivated by experimental reports of stretch-stabilization of the collagen fibers to enzymatic degradation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring pregnancy, the cervix experiences significant mechanical property change due to tissue swelling, and to ongoing changes in the collagen content. In this paper, we model how these two effects contribute to cervical deformation as the pressure load on top of the cervix increases. The cervix and its surrounding supporting ligaments are taken into consideration in the resulting mechanical analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA continuum mechanics constitutive model is presented for the interaction between swelling and collagen remodeling in biological soft tissue. The model is inherently two-way: swelling stretches the collagen fibers which affects their rate of degradation-the remodeled fibrous microarchitecture provides selective directional stiffening that causes the swollen tissue to expand more in the unreinforced directions. The constitutive model specifically treats stretch-stabilization wherein the rate of enzymatic-induced degradation of collagen is a decreasing function of fiber stretch.
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