TissueDB/Materials/Plastic Pipe
Plastic Pipe is rigid plastic pipe. Surgical simulation uses it as a bone analog. It is most often the shaft of a long bone, for drilling practice and external-fixator practice. It is the rigid counterpart to flexible Plastic Tubing. Builds use it where they need a bone shaft and not a soft tube. One documented form is PPR plastic pipe (polypropylene random copolymer plumbing pipe). Other builds name no particular pipe plastic and use a generic rigid pipe. Builders cut the pipe to length, then drill or pin it like bone. They can also pack it with a soft filler of sand and vegetable oil to represent the medullary cavity.
Tissues
| Tissue | Visual | Tactile | Simulator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bone (long-bone shaft) | Long Bone Drilling Simulator, Orthoplastic Reconstruction Simulator | PPR (polypropylene) plumbing pipe is the Variant B bone analog for drilling practice in Long Bone Drilling. Bamboo is the Variant A alternative.[1] The Orthoplastic Reconstruction build uses generic rigid plastic-pipe segments of about 3 cm diameter, cut to 15–20 cm. The segments form the long-bone cortex on each side of the fracture gap. Sand and vegetable oil fill them to represent the medulla. The builder drills them for external-fixator pins.[2] |
Alternatives
| Alternative | Best For | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| Bamboo | Variant A of the same ETALO build; low-cost and globally available | Variable diameter; node irregularities |
| Animal bone | Cortical/cancellous differentiation | Cultural restrictions; biological waste; single-use |
| Sawbones (synthetic) | Commercial option; purchasable rather than built | The ETALO module records that synthetic composite bone (Sawbones) "can be expensive to purchase and ship and are therefore not available to those practicing in LMICs".[3] No build in this collection records using it. |
References
- ↑ ETALO team. Building a Basic Bone Drilling Simulator, ETALO Bone Drilling Module, Global Surgical Training Challenge. ETALO Basic Bone Drilling Simulator on Appropedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not indexed in PubMed; primary source linked directly.
- ↑ AmoSmile team. Physical Simulator, Orthoplastic Reconstruction training module, Global Surgical Training Challenge. Orthoplastic reconstruction/Physical Simulator on Appropedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not indexed in PubMed; primary source linked directly.
- ↑ ETALO team. ETALO Bone Drilling Module, Global Surgical Training Challenge. ETALO Bone Drilling Module on Appropedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not indexed in PubMed; primary source linked directly.
| Authors | Arturopelayo, Ian-laurel |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Cite as | Arturopelayo, Ian-laurel (2025–2026). "TissueDB/Materials/Plastic Pipe". Appropedia. Retrieved August 25, 2026. |