Bone Fixation and the Corrosion Resistance of Stainless Steels to the Fluids of the Human Body

Bone fixation plates and screws were prepared from three different stainless steels and from one chromium‐cobalt alloy. These were tested under the most carefully controlled conditions, closely duplicating the conditions prevailing in the normal human body. The following media were included: physiological salt solutions; plain serum; serum saturated with an excess of sulfanilamide; serum inoculated with staphylococcus aureus; and serum acidified to pH 5.0 to 5.5 by the addition of potassium acid phosphate. Results showed that stainless steel, such as AISI Type 302, was the most corrosion resistant.