New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tendon

A tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone, or muscle to muscle and is designed to withstand tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments except that ligaments join one bone to another. Tendons and muscles work together and can only exert a pulling force. Most of the strength of tendon is due to the vertical, hierarchical arrangement of densely-packed collagen fibrils. Tendon length varies in all major groups and from monkey to person. Tendon length is practically the discerning factor where muscle size and potential muscle size is concerned. For example, a man with a 1 centimetre biceps tendon will have greater potential for muscle mass than a man with a longer tendon. Bodybuilders will generally have short tendons and are said to have 'great genetics', however not all bodybuilders are blessed with short tendons.

Related Stories
 


Health & Medicine News

July 28, 2026

Researchers found that insulin-producing cells depend on a team of helper proteins to keep insulin production on track. When one key partner was missing, damaged proteins built up and the cells made less insulin. Strengthening this system could ...
A healthy lifestyle can prevent type 2 diabetes for many people, but new research suggests that weight loss alone may not be enough for one particularly vulnerable group. Even after losing about 8% of their body weight and keeping it off for years, ...
A major review found that exercise produces only small average improvements in hip osteoarthritis pain and physical function. It may still help some people, but researchers warn that current evidence is too limited to know which exercises work ...
A single 30-minute sauna session may briefly put the immune system on higher alert. Finnish researchers found that sauna heat, paired with a short cold shower, increased every type of white blood cell circulating in the bloodstream, including key ...
Unsweetened sparkling water may offer a tooth-friendlier alternative to sugary soda, according to a small preliminary study tracking how different drinks change mouth acidity. Soda caused the strongest and longest drop in salivary pH, while ...
Eating within a shorter daily window may help protect certain thinking skills as people age. In a small six-month trial, older women who limited eating to about 8 to 9 hours a day performed better on planning and problem-solving tests than those who ...
A controlled mouse study has provided direct evidence that inherited genetics can steer how cancer begins and evolves after DNA damage. The discovery could eventually help doctors better predict cancer risk and tailor screening and treatments to ...
Popular AI-powered food apps may make calorie counting easier, but they may also leave out a surprisingly large part of the meal. Four apps underestimated calories and fat by about one-third when tested against carefully prepared meals. High-fat ...
Scientists used CRISPR to make prostate cancer cells easier for the immune system to detect and destroy. The experimental treatment dramatically improved the effects of immunotherapy in mice and may offer hope for other hard-to-treat ...
Scientists discovered that damaged fat cells can become inflamed, lose their ability to store lipids, and eventually vanish, disrupting the body’s metabolism. The findings show that diabetes can result not only from excess fat, but also from ...
Scientists have identified a possible tipping point that helps determine whether Alzheimer’s-related brain changes lead to dementia. The key may lie in how the brain’s immune cells respond to plaques and tau, offering a promising new target for ...
A decades-old diabetes drug just got a surprising twist. Scientists have discovered that metformin doesn’t just work in the liver and gut—it also acts directly in the brain, where it taps into a hidden control center for blood sugar. By ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56 pm ET