Comparative biomechanics: life's physical world

In this book the author explains how biomechanics makes use of models and methods drawn from physics and mechanical engineering to investigate a wide range of general questions, from how animals swim and fly and the modes of terrestrial locomotion to the way organisms respond to wind and water currents and the operation of circulatory and suspension-feeding systems. He looks also at the relationships between the properties of biological materials, spider silk, jellyfish jelly, muscle, and more and their various structural and functional roles. Written primarily for biology majors and graduate students in biology, this text will be useful for physical scientists and engineers seeking a sense of the state of the art of biomechanics and a guide to its rather scattered literature. For a still wider audience, it establishes the basic biological context for such applied areas as ergonomics, orthopedics, mechanical prosthetics, kinesiology, sports medicine, and biomimetics.