This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)

A tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone^[1] and is capable of withstanding tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments except that ligaments join one bone to another. Tendons and muscles work together and can only exert a pulling force. Tendon can refer to: A tendon or sinew is a part of a structure or system that provides support and holds it together Tendon, Vosges, a commune in the Vosges département in France Tendon, an abbreviation for Tenpura-Donburi A tenon is often misspelled or mispronounced as tendon. A... Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ... Elseviers logo. ... ... For other uses of Muscles, see Muscles (disambiguation). ... This article is about the skeletal organs. ... Tension is a reaction force applied by a stretched string (rope or a similar object) on the objects which stretch it. ... In anatomy, the term ligament is used to denote three different types of structures:[1] Fibrous tissue that connects bones to other bones. ...

Anatomy

The origin of a tendon is where it joins to a muscle. Collagen fibers from within the muscle organ are continuous with those of the tendon. A tendon inserts into bone at an enthesis where the collagen fibers are mineralized and integrated into bone tissue. While they exert no pulling force of their own, tendons transfer the contractions of muscles and can exert an elastic force if forcibly stretched. The origin of a muscle is the point at it attaches to a bone (usually) or another muscle. ... Tropocollagen triple helix. ... Enthesis (plural: entheses) is the point at which a tendon inserts into bone, where the collagen fibres are mineralised and integrated into bone tissue. ...

Structure

Normal healthly tendons are composed of parallel arrays of collagen fibers closely packed together. The fibers are mostly collagen type I, however there is also collagen type III and V present. These collagens are held together with other proteins, particularly the proteoglycan, decorin and, in compressed regions of tendon, aggrecan. The tenocytes produce the collagen molecules which aggregate end-to-end and side-to-side to produce collagen fibrils. Fibril bundles are organized to form fibers with the elongated tenocytes closely packed between them. Collagen fibers coalesce into macroaggregates. Groups of macroaggregates are bounded by connective tissue endotendon and are termed fascicles. Groups of fascicles are bounded by the epitendon and peritendon to form the tendon organ. Tropocollagen triple helix. ... Proteoglycans represent a special class of glycoprotein that are heavily glycosylated. ... Decorin is a proteoglycan on average 90 - 140 kilodaltons (kD) in size. ... Aggrecan, or large aggregating proteoglycan, is a proteoglycan, or a protein modified with carbohydrates; the human form of the protein is 2316 amino acids long and can be expressed in multiple isoforms due to alternative splicing. ...

Blood vessels may be visualized within the endotendon running parallel to collagen fibers, with occasional branching transverse anastomoses. // Anastomosis (plural anastomoses) refers to a form of network in which streams both branch out and reconnect. ...

The internal tendon bulk is thought to contain no nerve fibers, but the epi- and peritendon contain nerve endings, while Golgi tendon organs are present at the junction between tendon and muscle. Golgi tendon organs are proprioceptive sense organs that are located at the insertion of skeletal muscle fibres into the tendons of skeletal muscle. ...

Tendon length varies in all major groups and from person to person. Tendon length is practically the discerning factor where muscle size and potential muscle size is concerned. For example, should all other relevant biological factors be equal, a man with a shorter tendons and a longer biceps muscle will have greater potential for muscle mass than a man with a longer tendon and a shorter muscle. Successful bodybuilders will generally have shorter tendons. Conversely, in sports requiring athletes to excel in actions such as running or jumping, it is beneficial to have longer than average Achilles tendon and a shorter calf muscle.^[2] Professional Bodybuilder Gustavo Badell posing Bodybuilding is the process of maximizing muscle hypertrophy through the combination of weight training, sufficient caloric intake, and rest. ... This is about vertebrate anatomy. ...

Tendon length is determined by genetic predisposition, and has not been shown to either increase or decrease in response to environment, unlike muscles which can be shortened by trauma, use imbalances and a lack of recovery and stretching.^{[citation needed]}

Pathology

Tendonitis refers to inflammation of a tendon. Tendonitis (also tenonitis or tendinitis) is an inflammation of a tendon. ...

Tendinosis refers to non-inflammatory injury to the tendon at the cellular level. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with tendonitis. ...

Other information

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The Achilles tendon is a particularly large tendon connecting the heel to the muscles of the calf. It is so named because the mythic hero Achilles was said to have been killed due to an injury to this area. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... This is about vertebrate anatomy. ... For other uses, see Heel (disambiguation). ... The calf or gastrosoleus is a pair of muscles—the gastrocnemius and soleus—at the back of the lower human leg. ... For other uses, see Achilles (disambiguation). ...

Sinew was also widely used throughout pre-industrial eras as a tough, durable fiber. Some specific uses include using sinew as thread for sewing, attaching feathers to arrows (see fletch), lashing tool blades to shafts, etc. It also recommended in survival guides as a material from which strong cordage can be made for items like traps or living structures. Tendon must be treated in specific ways to function usefully for these purposes. Inuit and other circumpolar people utilized sinew as the only cordage for all domestic purposes due to the lack of other suitable fiber sources in their ecological habitats. Industrialisation (or industrialization) or an industrial revolution (in general, with lowercase letters) is a process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial state . ... Fiber or fibre[1] is a class o f materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread. ... Yarn Spools of thread Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. ... In archery, a fletch refers to a vane at the rear end of the arrow, used to stabilize the arrow through air resistance in flight. ... For other uses, see Inuit (disambiguation). ... Circumpolar stars are those stars which are located near the celestial poles of the celestial sphere, i. ...

Tendon (particularly beef tendon) is used as a food in some Asian cuisines (often served at Yum Cha or Dim Sum restaurants). One popular dish is Suan Bao Niu Jin, where the tendon is marinated in garlic. For other uses, see Beef (disambiguation). ... Lung Mun, an old-styled Cantonese restaurant in Wan Chai, Hong Kong Yum cha (Cantonese:飲茶; Japanese: ヤムチャ, kanji:喫茶), literally translated as drinking tea, refers to the Cantonsese custom of eating tiny tastes of many different foods while sipping a well-brewed Chinese cuppa. ... Dim sum (Chinese: 點心; Cantonese IPA: dɪm2sɐm1; Pinyin: diǎnxīn; Wade-Giles: tien-hsin; literally dot heart or order heart, meaning order to ones hearts content; also commonly translated as touch the heart, dotted heart, or snack), a Cantonese term, is usually a light meal or brunch, eaten sometime...

See also

• Aponeurosis
• Chordae tendineae
• Cartilage
• Tendon sheath

Aponeurosis is the singular of Aponeuroses Grays Anatomy states that Aponeuroses are flattened or ribbon-shaped tendons, of a pearly white color, iridescent, glistening, and similar in structure to the tendons. ... The chordae tendineae, or heart strings, are cord-like tendons that connect the papillary muscles to the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve in the heart. ... Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. ...

References

1. ^ eMedicine/Stedman Medical Dictionary Lookup!
2. ^ Having a short Achilles tendon may be an athlete's Achilles heel. Retrieved on 2007-10-26.