The intimate relationship between form and function inherent in the design of animals is perhaps nowhere more evident than in the musculoskeletal system. This book, about how function determines form, addresses the role of mechanical factors in the development, adaptation, maintenance, aging, and repair of skeletal tissues. The authors refer to this process as mechanobiology and develop their theme within an evolutionary framework. They show how degenerative disorders such as arthritis and osteoporosis are regulated by the same mechanical processes that influence normal development and...