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Tendon histology
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A tendon is the structure that ties muscle to bone: it begins where the muscle enters it and ends where it inserts into bone. The cells that live there are called tenocytes and tenoblasts, and they are specialized fibroblasts, that is, cells that manufacture supporting tissue.
What they make is the extracellular matrix, the material that sits between the cells. Roughly 65 to 80% of that matrix is collagen, and the dominant type is type I.
The fibrils do not run stretched out like taut ropes. They are wavy, forming zigzags called crimps, made of straight segments joined by nodes that act like hinges. Collagen bends without breaking.
And all of it is ordered. A thin membrane of loose connective tissue, the endotenon, wraps the fibers and gathers them into progressively larger units. It is a braided steel cable: fine strands into small bundles, small bundles into larger ones, all pulling the same way.
In brief
Tendon connects muscle to bone and is home to tenocytes and tenoblasts, specialized fibroblasts.
They build the extracellular matrix, which is roughly 65 to 80% collagen, mostly type I.
The fibrils are wavy, forming crimps: straight segments joined by nodes; collagen bends without breaking.
The endotenon, made of loose connective tissue, organizes the fibers into progressively larger bundles.
A braided steel cable: fine strands into small bundles, small bundles into larger ones, all pulling the same way.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAnatomy, Tendons, StatPearlsPublished
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