Izvestiya of Saratov University.

Mathematics. Mechanics. Informatics

ISSN 1816-9791 (Print)
ISSN 2541-9005 (Online)

For citation:

Dol A. V., Soloviev A. A., Levchenko K. K., Betsukov I. O., Gladysheva K. A., Ivanov D. V. Mechanical properties of menisci: A literature review and an experimental research plan. Izvestiya of Saratov University. Mathematics. Mechanics. Informatics, 2026, vol. 26, iss. 3, pp. 418-436. DOI: 10.18500/1816-9791-2026-26-3-418-436, EDN: WATJTK

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0).
Published online: 
31.08.2026
Full text:
download
(downloads: 44)
Language: 
English
Heading: 
Mechanics
Article type: 
Review
UDC: 
539.3/617.547
DOI: 
10.18500/1816-9791-2026-26-3-418-436
EDN: 
WATJTK

Mechanical properties of menisci: A literature review and an experimental research plan

Autors: 
Dol Aleksandr Viktorovich, Saratov State University
Soloviev Anton A., Saratov State University
Levchenko Kristina K., State Medical University name after V. I. Razumovsky
Betsukov Inal O., State Medical University name after V. I. Razumovsky
Gladysheva Ksenia A., Saratov State University
Ivanov Dmitry V., Saratov State University
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.

Key words: 
meniscus
mechanical properties
tension
compression
shear
viscoelasticity
poroelasticity
numerical modeling
finite elements
Acknowledgments: 
The work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation as part of the state assignment (project No. FSRR-2026-0003).
References: 
  1. Bullough P. G., Munuera L., Murphy J., Weinstein A. M. The strength of the menisci of the knee as it relates to their fine structure. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. British Volume, 1970, vol. 52-B, iss. 3, pp. 564–567. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1302/0301-620X.52B3.564
  2. Aspden R. M., Yarker Y. E., Hukins D. W. L. Collagen orientations in the meniscus of the knee joint. Journal of Anatomy, 1985, vol. 140, pt. 3, pp. 371–380.
  3. Beaupré A., Choukroun R., Guidouin R., Garneau R., Gerardin H., Cardou A. Knee menisci: Correlation between microstructure and biomechanics. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1986, vol. 208, pp. 72–75. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00003086-198607000-00016
  4. Makris E. A., Hadidi P., Athanasiou K. A. The knee meniscus: structure-function, pathophysiology, current repair techniques, and prospects for regeneration. Biomaterials, 2011, vol. 32, iss. 30, pp. 7411–7431. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.06.037
  5. Fox A. J. S., Bedi A., Rodeo S. A. The basic science of human knee menisci: Structure, composition, and function. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 2012, vol. 4, iss. 4, pp. 340–351. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738111429419
  6. McNulty A. L., Guilak F. Mechanobiology of the meniscus. Journal of Biomechanics, 2015, vol. 48, iss. 8, pp. 1469–1478. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2015.02.008
  7. Andrews S. H. J., Adesida A. B., Abusara Z., Shrive N. G. Current concepts on structure-function relationships in the menisci. Connective Tissue Research, 2017, vol. 58, iss. 3–4, pp. 271–281. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03008207.2017.1303489
  8. Proctor C. S., Schmidt M. B., Whipple R. R., Kelly M. A., Mow V. C. Material properties of the normal medial bovine meniscus. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 1989, vol. 7, iss. 6, pp. 771–782. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.1100070602
  9. Fithian D. C., Kelly M. A., Mow V. C. Material properties and structure-function relationships in the menisci. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1990, vol. 252, pp. 19–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00003086-199003000-00004
  10. Anderson D. R., Woo S. L.-Y., Kwan M. K., Gershuni D. H. Viscoelastic shear properties of the equine medial meniscus. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 1991, vol. 9, iss. 4, pp. 550–558. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.1100090411
  11. Spilker R. L., Donzelli P. S., Mow V. C. A transversely isotropic biphasic finite element model of the meniscus. Journal of Biomechanics, 1992, vol. 25, iss. 9, pp. 1027–1045. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9290(92)90098-3
  12. Skaggs D. L., Warden W. H., Mow V. C. Radial tie fibers influence the tensile properties of the bovine medial meniscus. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 1994, vol. 12, iss. 2, pp. 176–185. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.1100120205
  13. Zhu W., Chern K. Y., Mow V. C. Anisotropic viscoelastic shear properties of bovine meniscus. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1994, vol. 306, pp. 34–45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00003086-199409000-00005
  14. Tissakht M., Ahmed A. M. Tensile stress-strain characteristics of the human meniscal material. Journal of Biomechanics, 1995, vol. 28, iss. 4, pp. 411–422. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9290(94)00081-E
  15. Joshi M. D., Suh J.-K. F., Marui T., Woo S. L.-Y. Interspecies variation of compressive biomechanical properties of the meniscus. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, 1995, vol. 29, iss. 7, pp. 823–828. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9290(92)90038-3
  16. Lechner K., Hull M. L., Howell S. M. Is the circumferential tensile modulus within a human medial meniscus affected by the test sample location and cross-sectional area? Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 2000, vol. 18, iss. 6, pp. 945–951. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.1100180614
  17. LeRoux M. A., Setton L. A. Experimental and biphasic FEM determinations of the material properties and hydraulic permeability of the meniscus in tension. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 2002, vol. 124, iss. 3, pp. 315–321. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1468868
  18. Sweigart M. A., Zhu C. F., Burt D. M., deHoll P. D., Agrawal C. M., Clanton T. O., Athanasiou K. A. Intraspecies and interspecies comparison of the compressive properties of the medial meniscus. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2004, vol. 32, iss. 11, pp. 1569–1579. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1114/B:ABME.0000049040.70767.5c
  19. Sweigart M. A., Athanasiou K. A. Tensile and compressive properties of the medial rabbit meniscus. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine, 2005, vol. 219, iss. 5, pp. 337–347. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1243/095441105X34329
  20. Sweigart M. A., Athanasiou K. A. Biomechanical characteristics of the normal medial and lateral porcine knee menisci. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine, 2005, vol. 219, iss. 1, pp. 53–62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1243/095441105X9174
  21. Hunter S. A., Noyes F. R., Haridas B., Levy M. S., Butler D. L. Meniscal material properties are minimally affected by matrix stabilization using glutaraldehyde and glycation with ribose. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 2005, vol. 23, iss. 3, pp. 555–561. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orthres.2004.09.004
  22. Chia H. N., Hull M. L. Compressive moduli of the human medial meniscus in the axial and radial directions at equilibrium and at a physiological strain rate. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 2008, vol. 26, iss. 7, pp. 951–956. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.20573
  23. Lai J. H., Levenston M. E. Meniscus and cartilage exhibit distinct intra-tissue strain distributions under unconfined compression. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2010, vol. 18, iss. 10, pp. 1291–1299. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2010.06.020
  24. Abraham A. C., Moyer J. T., Villegas D. F., Odegard G. M., Haut Donahue T. L. Hyperelastic properties of human meniscal attachments. Journal of Biomechanics, 2011, vol. 44, iss. 3, pp. 413–418. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2010.10.001
  25. Abraham A. C., Edwards C. R., Odegard G. M., Donahue T. L. H. Regional and fiber orientation dependent shear properties and anisotropy of bovine meniscus. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 2011, vol. 4, iss. 8, pp. 2024–2030. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2011.06.022
  26. Andrews S. H. J., Shrive N. G., Ronsky J. L. The shocking truth about meniscus. Journal of Biomechanics, 2011, vol. 44, iss. 16, pp. 2737–2740. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2011.08.026
  27. Sanchez-Adams J., Willard V. P., Athanasiou K. A. Regional variation in the mechanical role of knee meniscus glycosaminoglycans. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2011, vol. 111, iss. 6, pp. 1590–1596. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00848.2011
  28. Sandmann G. H., Adamczyk C., Grande Garcia E., Doebele S., Buettner A., Milz S., Imhoff A. B., Vogt S., Burgkart R., Tischer T. Biomechanical comparison of menisci from different species and artificial constructs. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2013, vol. 14, art. 324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2474-14-324
  29. Pereira H., Caridade S. G., Frias A. M., Silva-Correia J., Pereira D. R., Cengiz I. F., Mano J. F., Oliveira J. M., Espregueira-Mendes J., Reis R. L. Biomechanical and cellular segmental characterization of human meniscus: Building the basis for tissue engineering therapies. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2014, vol. 22, iss. 9, pp. 1271–1281. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2014.07.001
  30. Danso E. K., Mäkelä J. T. A., Tanska P., Mononen M. E., Honkanen J. T. J., Jurvelin J. S., Töyräs J., Julkunen P., Korhonen R. K. Characterization of site-specific biomechanical properties of human meniscus — Importance of collagen and fluid on mechanical nonlinearities. Journal of Biomechanics, 2015, vol. 48, iss. 8, pp. 1499–1507. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2015.01.048
  31. Freutel M., Galbusera F., Ignatius A., Dürselen L. Material properties of individual menisci and their attachments obtained through inverse finite element analysis. Journal of Biomechanics, 2015, vol. 48, iss. 8, pp. 1343–1349. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2015.03.014
  32. Wheatley B. B., Fischenich K. M., Button K. D., Haut R. C., Haut Donahue T. L. An optimized transversely isotropic, hyper-poro-viscoelastic finite element model of the meniscus to evaluate mechanical degradation following traumatic loading. Journal of Biomechanics, 2015, vol. 48, iss. 8, pp. 1454–1460. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2015.02.028
  33. Fischenich K. M., Lewis J. T., Kindsfater K. A., Bailey T. S., Haut Donahue T. L. Effects of degeneration on the compressive and tensile properties of human meniscus. Journal of Biomechanics, 2015, vol. 48, iss. 8, pp. 1407–1411. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2015.02.042
  34. Peloquin J. M., Santare M. H., Elliott D. M. Advances in quantification of meniscus tensile mechanics including nonlinearity, yield, and failure. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 2016, vol. 138, iss. 2, art. 021002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4032354
  35. Shriram D., Praveen Kumar G., Cui F., Lee Y. H. D., Subburaj K. Evaluating the effects of material properties of artificial meniscal implant in the human knee joint using finite element analysis. Scientific Reports, 2017, vol. 7, art. 6011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06271-3
  36. Danso E. K., Oinas J. T., Saarakkala S., Mikkonen S., Töyräs J., Korhonen R. K. Structure-function relationships of human meniscus. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 2017, vol. 67, pp. 51–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2016.12.002
  37. Seyfi B., Fatouraee N., Imeni M. Mechanical modeling and characterization of meniscus tissue using flat punch indentation and inverse finite element method. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 2018, vol. 77, pp. 337–346. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2017.09.023
  38. Kleinhans K. L., Jackson A. R. Hydraulic permeability of meniscus fibrocartilage measured via direct permeation: Effects of tissue anisotropy, water volume content, and compressive strain. Journal of Biomechanics, 2018, vol. 72, pp. 215–221. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2018.03.011
  39. Morejon A., Norberg C. D., De Rosa M., Best T. M., Jackson A. R., Travascio F. Compressive properties and hydraulic permeability of human meniscus: Relationships with tissue structure and composition. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2020, vol. 8, art. 622552. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2020.622552
  40. Norberg C., Filippone G., Andreopoulos F., Best T. M., Baraga M., Jackson A. R., Travascio F. Viscoelastic and equilibrium shear properties of human meniscus: Relationships with tissue structure and composition. Journal of Biomechanics, 2021, vol. 120, art. 110343. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2021.110343
  41. Ferroni M., Belgio B., Peretti G. M., Di Giancamillo A., Boschetti F. Evolution of meniscal biomechanical properties with growth: An experimental and numerical study. Bioengineering, 2021, vol. 8, iss. 5, art. 70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8050070
  42. Agustoni G., Maritz J., Kennedy J., Bonomo F. P., Bordas S. P. A., Barrera O. High resolution micro-computed tomography reveals a network of collagen channels in the body region of the knee meniscus. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2021, vol. 49, iss. 9, pp. 2273–2281. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-021-02763-6
  43. Berni M., Marchiori G., Cassiolas G., Grassi A., Zaffagnini S., Fini M., Lopomo N. F., Maglio M. Anisotropy and inhomogeneity of permeability and fibrous network response in the pars intermedia of the human lateral meniscus. Acta Biomaterialia, 2021, vol. 135, pp. 393–402. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2021.08.020
  44. Warnecke D., Balko J., Haas J., Bieger R., Leucht F., Wolf N., Schild N. B., Stein S. E. C., Seitz A. M., Ignatius A., Reichel H., Mizaikoff B., Dürselen L. Degeneration alters the biomechanical properties and structural composition of lateral human menisci. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2020, vol. 28, iss. 11, pp. 1482–1491. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2020.07.004
  45. Nesbitt D. Q., Siegel D. N., Nelson S. J., Lujan T. J. Effect of age on the failure properties of human meniscus: High-speed strain mapping of tissue tears. Journal of Biomechanics, 2021, vol. 115, pp. 110126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.110126
  46. Morejon A., Dalbo P. L., Best T. M., Jackson A. R., Travascio F. Tensile energy dissipation and mechanical properties of the knee meniscus: Relationship with fiber orientation, tissue layer, and water content. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2023, vol. 11, art. 1205512. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1205512
  47. Nesbitt D. Q., Burruel D. E., Henderson B. S., Lujan T. J. Finite element modeling of meniscal tears using continuum damage mechanics and digital image correlation. Scientific Reports, 2023, vol. 13, art. 4039. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-29111-z
  48. Schwer J., Ignatius A., Seitz A. M. The biomechanical properties of human menisci: A systematic review. Acta Biomaterialia, 2024, vol. 175, pp. 1–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2023.12.010
Received: 
05.05.2026
Accepted: 
11.06.2026
Published: 
31.08.2026
  • 113 reads