tendon

Examples of tendon in the following topics:

• Muscle Attachment Sites

  • Tendons are composed of connective tissue that attaches muscle to bone.
  • Tendons were once thought to play only a passive connective role.
  • Not all muscle attaches via tendons.
  • It is the thickest and strongest tendon in the body.
  • Tendons are a common tissue that connect muscle to bone.

• Bursae and Tendon Sheaths

  • Joints are cushioned by small fluid-filled sacs called bursae and stabilized by tough bands of fibrous connective tissue called tendons.
  • Synovial tendon sheaths line tendons only where they pass through narrow passages or retinacula, as in the palm, at the wrist, and around the ankle.
  • Elsewhere, the tendon lies in a bed of loose fibrous tissue.
  • Tendons connect muscle to bone and move the bones or structures to which they are attached.
  • It provides a cushion between bones and tendons or muscles around a joint.

• Stability and Range of Motion at Synovial Joints

  • A tendon is a mechanism by which muscles connect to bone and that transmits force.
  • It also allows tendons to store and recover energy with high efficiency.
  • During a human stride, the Achilles (calcaneal) tendon stretches as the ankle joint undergoes dorsiflexion.
  • Disuse, causing decrease in synovial fluid, flexibility of ligaments and tendons, and muscle atrophy
  • The Achilles tendon, also called the calcaneus, provides stability and limits the range of motion at the ankle joint.

• Tenosynovitis

  • Tenosynovitis is the inflammation of the fluid-filled sheath (called the synovium) that surrounds a tendon.
  • Tenosynovitis is the inflammation of the fluid-filled sheath (called the synovium) that surrounds a tendon.
  • This condition often presents with comorbid tendinitis, which is the inflammation of the actual tendon itself.
  • Resting the affected tendons is essential for recovery; a brace is often recommended.
  • The sprained tendon or limb is splinted for a week or so.

• Spinal Reflexes

  • The Golgi tendon reflex is a normal component of the reflex arc of the peripheral nervous system.
  • The tendon reflex operates as a feedback mechanism to control muscle tension by causing muscle relaxation before muscle force becomes so great that tendons might be torn.
  • Like the stretch reflex, the tendon reflex is ipsilateral.
  • The sensory receptors for this reflex are called tendon Golgi receptors, which lie within a tendon near its junction with a muscle.
  • The Golgi tendon organ, responsible for the Golgi tendon reflex, is diagrammed with its typical position in a muscle (left), neuronal connections in spinal cord (middle), and expanded schematic (right).

• Proprioceptive Sensations

  • The Golgi organ (also called Golgi tendon organ, tendon organ, neurotendinous organ or neurotendinous spindle) is a proprioceptive sensory receptor organ that is located at the insertion of skeletal muscle fibers onto the tendons of skeletal muscle.
  • It provides the sensory component of the Golgi tendon reflex.
  • The Golgi tendon reflex is a normal component of the reflex arc of the peripheral nervous system.
  • In a Golgi tendon reflex, skeletal muscle contraction causes the agonist muscle to simultaneously lengthen and relax.
  • The Golgi tendon organ contributes to the Golgie tendon reflex and provides proprioceptive information about joint position.

• How Skeletal Muscles Are Named

  • These muscles do not tend to exert as much force on their tendons.
  • Because the fascicles pull on the tendons at an angle, they do not move the tendon as far as their parallel muscle counterparts.
  • In Pennate muscles, the tendon runs through the length of the muscle.
  • If the fascicles lie to either side of the tendon the muscle is called bipennate.
  • If the central tendon branches within a pennate muscle, the muscle is called multipennate.

• Knee Injuries

  • Tendons usually attach muscle to bone.
  • In the knee the quadriceps and patellar tendon can sometimes tear.
  • The injuries to these tendons occur when there is forceful contraction of the knee.
  • If the tendon is completely torn, bending or extending the leg is impossible.
  • A completely torn tendon requires surgery, but a partially torn tendon can be treated with leg immobilization followed by physical therapy.

• Bursitis

  • Bursitis, the inflammation of bursae (small sacs) of synovial fluid, impedes the movement of muscles and tendons over joint bones.
  • The bursae rest at the points where muscles and tendons slide across bone.
  • Moreover, movement of tendons and muscles over the inflamed bursa aggravate inflammation, perpetuating the problem.

• Patella (The Knee)

  • To enhance the leverage that the quadriceps tendon can exert on the femur, thereby increasing muscle efficiency.
  • The base of the patella faces superiorly and is the attachment point for the quadriceps tendon.