Which BEST defines bone and soft tissue's response to stress?

Which BEST defines bone and soft tissue's response to stress?

• A. Archimedes principle
• B. Frank-Starling law
• C. Wolff's law
• D. Law of Grotthus-Draper

Answer: (C)

Bone and soft tissues adapt their structure in response to the mechanical stresses placed on them. Wolff's law captures this idea: bone remodels to align its architecture with the direction and magnitude of habitual loads, strengthening where stress is greatest. Osteocytes sense strain and regulate remodeling through signaling to osteoblasts and osteoclasts, so bone density and trabecular orientation adjust over time to meet functional demands. Soft tissues do similarly—muscles tend to hypertrophy with resistance training, and ligaments and tendons remodel their collagen and stiffness to better handle repetitive loads, with fiber alignment following stress patterns. This adaptive process explains why activity and immobilization have such strong effects on strength and density. By contrast, Archimedes' principle is about buoyancy; the Frank-Starling law relates to how the heart changes stroke volume with changes in venous return; and the law of Grotthhus-Draper concerns how light absorption affects penetration in tissues.

Bone and soft tissues adapt their structure in response to the mechanical stresses placed on them. Wolff's law captures this idea: bone remodels to align its architecture with the direction and magnitude of habitual loads, strengthening where stress is greatest. Osteocytes sense strain and regulate remodeling through signaling to osteoblasts and osteoclasts, so bone density and trabecular orientation adjust over time to meet functional demands. Soft tissues do similarly—muscles tend to hypertrophy with resistance training, and ligaments and tendons remodel their collagen and stiffness to better handle repetitive loads, with fiber alignment following stress patterns. This adaptive process explains why activity and immobilization have such strong effects on strength and density.

By contrast, Archimedes' principle is about buoyancy; the Frank-Starling law relates to how the heart changes stroke volume with changes in venous return; and the law of Grotthhus-Draper concerns how light absorption affects penetration in tissues.