Muscles and tendons of the arm and leg:

Ligaments and tendons are complicated tissues, with blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels amidst muscle fibers.  However, tissue engineers in Australia, Germany and the US collaborated to create these artificial tissues.  “Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers were impregnated with either biosynthetic polyvinyl alcohol/gelatin hydrogel (FRH-PG) or with polyvinyl alcohol/gelatin + strontium-hardystonite (Sr-Ca2ZnSi2O7, Sr-HT) composite hydrogel (FRH-PGS). The scaffolds were fabricated and assessed to evaluate their suitability for tendon graft applications. The microstructure of both FRH-PG and FRH-PGS showed successful impregnation of the hydrogel component, and the tendon scaffolds exhibited equilibrium water content of ∼70 wt %, similar to the values reported for native human tendon, compared to ∼50 wt % water content retained in unmodified UHMWPE fibers. The tensile strength of FRH-PG and FRH-PGS (77.0–81.8 MPa) matched the range of human Achilles’ tendon tensile strengths reported in the literature.”        MORE

Image Credit:  Wikimedia.commons