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Concept
Tendon
Summary
A tendon or sinew is a tough band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tension.
Tendons, like ligaments, are made of collagen. The difference is that ligaments connect bone to bone, while tendons connect muscle to bone.
A tendon is made of dense regular connective tissue, whose main cellular components are special fibroblasts called tendon cells (tenocytes). Tendon cells synthesize the tendon's extracellular matrix, which abounds with densely-packed collagen fibers. The collagen fibers run parallel to each other and are grouped into fascicles. Each fascicle is bound by an endotendineum, which is a delicate loose connective tissue containing thin collagen fibrils and elastic fibers. A set of fascicles is bound by an epitenon, which is a sheath of dense irregular connective tissue. The whole tendon is enclosed by a fascia. The space between the fascia and the tendon tissue is filled with the paratenon, a fatty areolar tissue. Normal healthy tendons are anchored to bone by Sharpey's fibres.
The dry mass of normal tendons, which is 30-45% of their total mass, is made of:
60-85% collagen
60-80% collagen I
0-10% collagen III
2% collagen IV
small amounts of collagens V, VI, and others
15-40% non-collagenous extracellular matrix components, including:
3% cartilage oligomeric matrix protein,
1-2% elastin,
1–5% proteoglycans,
0.2% inorganic components such as copper, manganese, and calcium.
Although most of a tendon's collagen is type I collagen, many minor collagens are present that play vital roles in tendon development and function. These include type II collagen in the cartilaginous zones, type III collagen in the reticulin fibres of the vascular walls, type IX collagen, type IV collagen in the basement membranes of the capillaries, type V collagen in the vascular walls, and type X collagen in the mineralized fibrocartilage near the interface with the bone.
Collagen fibres coalesce into macroaggregates.
Official source
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