This paper presents a one-dimensional model describing the ultrasonic wave propagation in a poroelastic medium immersed in fluid. Motivation of this study arises from simulating the in vitro transverse transmission test on cancellous bone. Blot's theory is used for modeling the porous bone tissue. The solution is obtained by using the Laplace transform technique. First, closed-form solutions of reflected and transmitted waves are provided in the Laplace domain. Then, the time-dependent solutions are computed by using the Convolution Quadrature Method. Some numerical simulations are carried out, showing that the proposed model could be used as an efficient tool for analyzing the dynamic behavior of cancellous bone in the orthotropy directions. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.