We have developed a method for static testing of the human tibia in bending in the living subject, and fabricated a prototype device for carrying it out. Model testing indicates that the device and model system are inherently accurate and reliable. However, the biological system is more complex, and while more than 200 tests have been conducted with perfect safety, the variability of replicate tests suggests that the method does not yet have general clinical utility. In some subjects, that variance is relatively small, possibly because they are more relaxed and perhaps also for anatomical reasons. In two subjects, postmortem tests corresponded very well with antemortem tests on the tibiometer. We conclude that with further refinements the method may have clinical potential, if only in carefully selected subjects.