Studies on the Footpads of the Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) and their Possible Relevance to Accident Prevention
The incidence of slipping accidents is unknown, but accident and emergency departments in the United Kingdom probably treat over one million injuries per annum caused by slipping of the feet. Many injuries to farm livestock are caused by slipping. Previous research led to speculation that some anima...
Published in: | Journal of Hand Surgery |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0266-7681_85_80049-8 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/S0266-7681_85_80049-8 |
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crsagepubl:10.1016/s0266-7681_85_80049-8 2024-06-16T07:42:47+00:00 Studies on the Footpads of the Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) and their Possible Relevance to Accident Prevention MANNING, D. P. COOPER, J. E. STIRLING, I. JONES, C. M. BRUCE, M. McCAUSLAND, P. C. 1985 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0266-7681_85_80049-8 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/S0266-7681_85_80049-8 en eng SAGE Publications http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license Journal of Hand Surgery volume 10, issue 3, page 303-307 ISSN 0266-7681 journal-article 1985 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.1016/s0266-7681_85_80049-8 2024-05-19T13:02:19Z The incidence of slipping accidents is unknown, but accident and emergency departments in the United Kingdom probably treat over one million injuries per annum caused by slipping of the feet. Many injuries to farm livestock are caused by slipping. Previous research led to speculation that some animal species may have developed slip-resistant feet and the polar bear was chosen for a study of adaption to a slippery environment. Feet were photographed and a footpad was sectioned and examined by light and electron microscopy. Hardness of the footpads of two tranquillized bears was measured. The footpads were found to have a rough papillary surface overlying a soft dermis containing a dense network of collagen and elastic fibres. These findings support a hypothesis that shoe solings for use on an icy substrate should be soft with a hardness value in the region of 24 on the Shore A scale. The surface should be covered in conical projections having a mean diameter of 1mm. Further work on the feet of animal species could lead to a better understanding of slip-resistance and reduce injuries to humans and livestock. Article in Journal/Newspaper polar bear Ursus maritimus SAGE Publications Journal of Hand Surgery 10 3 303 307 |
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SAGE Publications |
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English |
description |
The incidence of slipping accidents is unknown, but accident and emergency departments in the United Kingdom probably treat over one million injuries per annum caused by slipping of the feet. Many injuries to farm livestock are caused by slipping. Previous research led to speculation that some animal species may have developed slip-resistant feet and the polar bear was chosen for a study of adaption to a slippery environment. Feet were photographed and a footpad was sectioned and examined by light and electron microscopy. Hardness of the footpads of two tranquillized bears was measured. The footpads were found to have a rough papillary surface overlying a soft dermis containing a dense network of collagen and elastic fibres. These findings support a hypothesis that shoe solings for use on an icy substrate should be soft with a hardness value in the region of 24 on the Shore A scale. The surface should be covered in conical projections having a mean diameter of 1mm. Further work on the feet of animal species could lead to a better understanding of slip-resistance and reduce injuries to humans and livestock. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
MANNING, D. P. COOPER, J. E. STIRLING, I. JONES, C. M. BRUCE, M. McCAUSLAND, P. C. |
spellingShingle |
MANNING, D. P. COOPER, J. E. STIRLING, I. JONES, C. M. BRUCE, M. McCAUSLAND, P. C. Studies on the Footpads of the Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) and their Possible Relevance to Accident Prevention |
author_facet |
MANNING, D. P. COOPER, J. E. STIRLING, I. JONES, C. M. BRUCE, M. McCAUSLAND, P. C. |
author_sort |
MANNING, D. P. |
title |
Studies on the Footpads of the Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) and their Possible Relevance to Accident Prevention |
title_short |
Studies on the Footpads of the Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) and their Possible Relevance to Accident Prevention |
title_full |
Studies on the Footpads of the Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) and their Possible Relevance to Accident Prevention |
title_fullStr |
Studies on the Footpads of the Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) and their Possible Relevance to Accident Prevention |
title_full_unstemmed |
Studies on the Footpads of the Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) and their Possible Relevance to Accident Prevention |
title_sort |
studies on the footpads of the polar bear (ursus maritimus) and their possible relevance to accident prevention |
publisher |
SAGE Publications |
publishDate |
1985 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0266-7681_85_80049-8 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/S0266-7681_85_80049-8 |
genre |
polar bear Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
polar bear Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Journal of Hand Surgery volume 10, issue 3, page 303-307 ISSN 0266-7681 |
op_rights |
http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0266-7681_85_80049-8 |
container_title |
Journal of Hand Surgery |
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10 |
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3 |
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303 |
op_container_end_page |
307 |
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1802010354324078592 |