“…Historically, the mechanical effects of stress on bone have been analyzed by finite element analysis of the long bones of the upper and lower extremities, most of which consist of thick cortical bone (Benjamin et al, 2004;Elise et al, 2003;Harun et al, 2003;Taylor et al, 2002;Wirtz et al, 2003). In finite element analysis, the cancellous bone was considered to be no more than bone tissues inside the cortical bone, and assuming that the cancellous bone is a mass, the material constant alone was obtained (Kimura, 1990). However, in the temporomandibular joint with a complicated structure, the cortical bone in the articular eminence is much thinner than that in the limbs bone, and when the cortical bone is stressed, the mechanical properties are markedly affected by the thickness and direction of the cancellous bone.…”