Understanding the mechanism of crack propagation during bone cutting is necessary for the development of realistic bone cutting models. This article studies the on-line fractural behaviour of cortical bone caused by penetration with a sharp metallic wedge mounted on an on-line loading stage within an X-ray microfocus computed tomography system. The experimental results demonstrated anisotropy in crack propagation depending on the penetration direction with regard to the longitudinal bone axis and relate the crack growth to the extent of penetration. Scanning electron microscopy is performed to analyse the mechanism of cracking in the two phase microstructure of compact bone. ; Peer reviewed