Mechanical characterization of liver capsule through uniaxial quasi-static tensile tests until failure

Accidentology data showed that liver is often injured in car crashes; three types of injuries occur: hematoma, laceration and vessel failure. This paper focuses on surface laceration, which involves liver capsule and hepatic parenchyma. Liver capsule behavior has been studied but its failure properties are still unclear, particularly on a local point of view. In the present study, tensile quasi-static tests are run on parenchyma and capsule samples until failure to characterize capsule failure. Normalized load as well as failure properties-ultimate load per width unit and ultimate strain-are determined. Digital image correlation is used to measure the full local strain field on the capsule. Mean values of failure characteristics for hepatic capsule are 47 +/- 29% for the ultimate local strain and 0.3 +/- 0.3 N/mm for the ultimate load per width unit. A comparison between human and porcine tissues is conducted based on Mann-Whitney statistical test: it reveals that capsule characteristics are close between these two species; however, freezing preservation significantly affects porcine capsule failure properties. Therefore using porcine instead of human tissue to determine failure characteristics of liver capsule seems satisfactory only on fresh tissues. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.