Ligaments and Tendons

Ligaments and tendons are forms of fibrous connective tissue.

A ligament is a short band of tough fibrous connective tissue composed mainly of long, stringy collagen molecules. Ligaments connect bones to other bones in joints. They do not connect muscles to bones; that is the function of tendons.

A tendon or sinew is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue, attached on one end to a muscle and on the other to a bone. They are similar to ligaments except that ligaments join one bone to another.

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 could only be injured at this spot.

Due to their poor blood supply, ligaments and tendons are very slow to heal if injured, and never regain their original strength. This is why dislocations are more likely to occur at joints that have been dislocated in the past.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia  and from Pain Busters Clinic

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