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. 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. 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 | Arturo Pelayo, Ian-laurel |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Cite as | Arturo Pelayo, Ian-laurel (2025–2026). "TissueDB/Materials/Plastic Pipe". Appropedia. Retrieved October 18, 2026. |