Figure 3.

Resistance to bending force in two bone shafts with identical cross-sectional areas, elastic modulus, and stress from axial force but differing in the distance of the material from the centre of the “cylinder.” The arrows indicate the magnitude of deformation associated with the same bending force, demonstrating that the shaft on the left cannot resist as much bending force as the one on the right. The midsections of the long bones in the arms and legs gradually become wider and thinner as adults age, becoming more like the bone on the right.