Abstract
An experimental technique suitable for the determination of the rheological properties of minute, biological viscoelastic solid specimens is presented. This technique is employed to ascertain the viscoelastic properties of the rabbit cumulus oöphorus. The experimental results when analyzed using the finite theory of elasticity reveal that the cumulus oöphorus can be adequately characterized as an incompressible elastic solid (retardation time less than 0.5 sec) with a strain energy function of the Mooney type. For small deformations, the elastic modulus was determined to be 1500 dynes/cm2. It is concluded that for the physiological case of oviductal transport the cumulus should be considered to behave essentially as a perfectly elastic body.
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