Tendon and Ligament Flashcards
Where would you find tendon?
Transmitting tensile force between muscle and bone.
Where would you find ligament?
Transmitting force bone to bone, or bone to cartilage.
Where would you find a) short, broad tendons, b) long, narrow tendons?
a) Large powerful muscles have short, broad tendons. - Short range of action.
b) Fine movement muscles have long, narrow tendons.
How does tendon metabolic rate compare to skeletal muscle? What implications does this have?
Tendons have a lower metabolic rate, which allows them to maintain tension for longer. However, they heal slower.
How you functionally differentiate tendons?
Positional tendons and energy storing tendons.
Positional tendons…
Transfer muscle force to distant bone to generate movement at a joint e.g. common digital extensor.
Energy storing tendons…
Release elastic energy at recoil, which increases efficiency. e.g. Superficial digital flexor tendon.
Anatomy of Tendon
Made up of collagen fibrils. Main cell type = Fibroblast. It has a crimped, which relates to elasticity.
How do collagen fibrils differ between weight-bearing and positional tendons?
Positional tendons tend to have more large collagen fibres.
What is the molecular composition of Tendon?
65% Water. 80-90% DM is Collagen (mainly Type I, but also III, IV, V etc), 5% Glycoproteins, <3% Proteoglycan, 1.5% Cells
In tendon, what is the Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein (COMP)?
It is an abudant glycoprotein, which catalyses the formation of collagen fibrils. More COMP = Less likely to rupture.
What is Strain?
The % change in tendon length under load.
What is stress?
Load experienced by tendon per unit cross-sectional area.
How do Tendons exhibit viscoelastic properties?
Low strain - easily deformed, absorb more energy, less effective at transmitting loads.
High strain - Stiffer and less deformable, more effective at moving large loads.
What characteristics do tendons exhibit under loads?
Elastic recoil (stored energy is returned), Hysteresis (some energy is lost as heat)
