Rossetti, L. et al. The microstructure and micromechanics of the tendon?bone insertion. Nat Mater 16, 664–670 (2017) [http://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4863]
Purpose: to study the exceptional mechanical properties of the load-bearing connection of tendon to bone rely on an intricate interplay of its biomolecular composition, microstructure and micromechanics
The structure of tendon fibres changes before attaching to bone. Enthesis high-resolution microcomputed tomography (μCT) and confocal reflection imaging as well as scanning electron microscopy show that fibres continue from tendon towards bone. Fibres unravel into thinner interface fibres upon entering the interface region which spans ∼500 μm between tendon and bone. a, Interface fibres observed with high-resolution μCT. b, Rendered volume of μCT acquisition showing both interface fibres as well as tendon fibres (see also Supplementary Movies 1 and 2). c, Tendon fibres in μCT. d, Tendon fibres and interface fibres imaged with confocal reflection microscopy of enthesis cryocut sections. e, Tendon fibres observed with scanning electron microscopy. White arrows mark fibre width. Scale bars, 250 μm.