At low strain, collagen fibrils and fibers uncrimp, and as strain increases, collagen begins to carry load. At higher strain, molecular stretching and slipping of fibrils and fibers occurs. This viscous sliding of the collagen fibrils, which align in the force direction, dissipates the load applied. As collagen is strained beyond its yield point, the crosslinks between fibrils break and defibrillation and eventually failure occurs.