The Beginnings of Russian Biomechanics

Biomechanics is the science of the state of bioconstructions from the point of view of the laws of mechanics. To study bioconstructions, a system analysis is used, which describes the structure of the constructions and its components, determines the properties of the structure tissues, external and internal influences on the structure. As a result, the biomechanics problem formulated. In this case, either a system of equations with boundary and initial conditions solved, or model problems selected. The origins of biomechanics were the works of Hippocrates (460-377 BC), Aristotle (384-322 BC), Galen (129– 216), Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Giovanni Borelli (1608-1679) and other scientists. In 1724, Peter the Great invited foreign scientists to develop Russian science. Among the scientists were the Bernoulli brothers, Daniel (1700-1782) and Nicholas (1695-1726). Daniel, who defended his dissertation on respiratory physiology, took the chair of Physiology, and Nicholas – mathematics. In his first works at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, D. Bernoulli was one of the first to study muscle movements, pointing out the dependence of the height of muscle contraction on the length of muscle fibers. In the monograph "Hydrodynamics or notes on the forces and movements of liquids" (1738), he showed the possibility of studying blood circulation and proposed a way to measure blood pressure in blood vessels. Later, when studying the relationship between the speed at which blood flows and its pressure, Daniel joined by Leonhard Euler (1707-1783). It should be noted, that Euler formulated for the first time the problem of the movement of blood through the vessels, taking into account changes in the properties of the vessel walls. In their research, Bernoulli and Euler showed possible applications of mathematics to solving biomechanical problems. Biomechanics often use ready-made mechanical models. This is how Euler solved the problem of the critical load during compression of the rod. Gabriel Lame (1795-1870) in St. Petersburg obtained an analytical solution to the problem of the effect of external and internal pressures on a sphere or cylinder. In the 20th century, these tasks applied to explain the curvature of bones in children with rickets, and the Lame task to determine the stress state and destruction of bioconstructions in the form of a sphere and a cylinder. A new stage in the development of biomechanics began in the second half of the 19th century, when systems of equations for elastic systems were compiled, and the law of growth of bioconstructions along the lines of main stresses, the Meyer–Wolf law, was formulated. P.F. Lesgaft (1837-1909) was one of the first in Russia, together with colleagues from the Institute of Communications, conducted experiments to determine mechanical characteristics of bones and structures. G.V. Kolosov in Dorpat explained the structure of the trabecular bone during bending.
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