Bone has a load-carrying function in the body, and an associated (micro)structure, which makes it light, as well as stiff and strong. Owing to a stress-controlled biological regulatory mechanism the material is continuously 'maintained' (micro-fractures are removed, while the structure adapts to magnitude and orientation of the external loads). Perturbations in the regulatory mechanism, or the external loads, may cause serious affections, such as congenital deformities, osteoporosis, bone fractures and destruction of the joints. The elective course provides an introduction to the biological regulatory processes in bone, to imaging and mechanical analysis in the clinic and in research, to assessment of strength and the analysis of failure processes, to development, diagnosis and prevention of osteoporosis, to the application of fracture-fixation devices, and to the design, fixation and ingrowth of joint prostheses. The course extends knowlegde of elasticity theory, strength of materials, (micro)fluid transport, computer tomography, MRI, ultrasound, cell biology, computer simulation and animal-experimental models.