The purpose of the present study was to apply knowledge of structural properties to perform
numerical simulations with models of bones and knee ligaments exposed to dynamic tensile
loading leading to tissue damage. Compact bones and knee ligaments exhibit the same
geometrical pattern in their different levels of structural hierarchy from the tropocollagen
molecule to the fibre. Nevertheless, their mechanical behaviours differ considerably at the
fibril level. These differences are due to the contribution of the joints in the microfibril-fibril-fibre assembly and to the mechanical properties of the structural components. Two finite
element models of the fibrous bone and ligament structure were used to describe damage in
terms of elastoplastic laws or joint decohesion processes.