Abstract
Knee menisci provide load redistribution, increase joint congruence, stabilize the joint, and participate in lubrication and nutrition of cartilage. Reliable parameters of meniscal mechanical behavior, accounting for anisotropy, inhomogeneity, nonlinearity, viscoelasticity, and poroelastic effects, are required for biomechanical and numerical modeling of the knee joint. This review considers experimental studies of the mechanical properties of human and animal menisci, with particular attention to testing techniques for tension, compression, shear, relaxation, and indentation. The classes of material models used (linear elastic, biphasic, poroviscoelastic, hyperelastic, and damage models) are analyzed separately. It is shown that the scatter of literature data is largely due to differences in specimen preparation protocols, cutting orientation, hydration conditions, clamping methods, loading rate, and strain measurement techniques. Based on this, a research plan is proposed for developing a testing methodology on bovine menisci to identify their mechanical parameters.