native loading conditions lead to adaptations of the internal tissue architectur. This principle of functional adaptation is generally known as ‘Wolff’s Law’ (Wolff, 1892). The ability of bone to adapt to mechanical loads is brought about by continuous bone resorption and bone formation. If these processes occur at different locations, the bone morphology is altered. The research of the remodelling of trabecular bone is in the main area of many medical research centres. There are many models of bone remodelling based on the strain energy density and used for the adaptation simulations of the bone, treated as a continuum material. The first models were empirical. Scientist completely abstracted from the underlying cellular processes, but related density changes in bone directly to local strain magnitudes. These models were capable of predicting density distributions in the bone as an effect of mechanical loads.
The computational theories became
more refined thereafter, i.e. they became more