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Information about Achilles Tendon

Achilles tendon
Posterior view of the foot and leg, showing the Achilles tendon (tendo calcaneus). The gastrocnemius muscle is cut to expose the soleus.
Lateral view of the human ankle, including the Achilles tendon
Latintendo calcaneus, tendo Achillis
subject #129 483
MeSH Achilles+tendon
Dorlands/Elsevier t_04/12793915
This is about vertebrate anatomy. For the metaphor of a single vulnerable spot, see Achilles' heel.
The Achilles tendon (or occasionally Achilles’ tendon) also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendocalcaneous is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (heel) bone.

Anatomy

The Achilles tendon is the tendonous extension of three muscles in the lower leg: gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantaris. In humans, the tendon passes behind the ankle. It is the thickest and strongest tendon in the body. It is about 15 cm long, and begins near the middle of the leg, but receives fleshy fibers on its anterior surface, almost to its lower end. Gradually becoming contracted below, it is inserted into the middle part of the posterior surface of the calcaneus, a bursa being interposed between the tendon and the upper part of this surface. The tendon spreads out somewhat at its lower end, so that its narrowest part is about 4 cm. above its insertion. It is covered by the fascia and the integument, and stands out prominently behind the bone; the gap is filled up with areolar and adipose tissue. Along its lateral side, but superficial to it, is the small saphenous vein. The achilles' muscle reflex tests the integrity of the S1 spinal root.

Nomenclature

The oldest-known written record of the tendon being named for Achilles is in 1693 by the Flemish/Dutch anatomist Philip Verheyen. In his widely used text Corporis Humani Anatomia, Chapter XV, page 328, he described the tendon's location and said that it was commonly called "the cord of Achilles" ("quae vulgo dicitur chorda Achillis").

The name Achilles' heel comes from Greek mythology. His mother, the goddess Thetis, received a prophecy of her son's death. In order to protect him, she dipped him into the River Styx, which protected his entire body from harm. However, in order to dip him into the river, she needed to grab onto his heel. During the Trojan War Achilles was struck on his unprotected heel by a poisoned arrow, which killed him.

Because eponyms have no relationship to the subject matter anatomical eponyms are being replaced by descriptive terms. The current terminology for Achilles tendon is calcaneal tendon.

Role in disease

Achilles tendinitis is inflammation of the tendon, generally due to overuse of the affected limb or as part of a strain injury. More common is Achilles tendinosis, a degenerative condition with inflammation of the tendon, often accompanied by pain and swelling of the surrounding tissue and paratendon. Maffulli et al. suggested that the clinical label of tendinopathy should be given to the combination of tendon pain, swelling and impaired performance. Achilles tendon rupture is a partial or complete break in the tendon; it requires immobilisation or surgery. Xanthoma can develop in the Achilles tendon in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.

Treatment of Achilles tendon damage

Initial treatment of damage to the tendon is generally nonoperative. Orthotics can produce early relief to the tendon by the correction of malalignments, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are generally to be avoided as they make the more-common tendinopathy (degenerative) injuries worse; though they may very occasionally be indicated for the rarer tendinitis (inflammatory) injuries. Physiotherapy by eccentric calf stretching under resistance is commonly recommended, usually in conjunction with podiatric insoles or heel cushioning. According to reports by Hakan Alfredson, M.D., and associates of clinical trials in Sweden, the pain in Achilles tendinopathy arises from the nerves associated with neovascularization and can be effectively treated with 1-4 small injections of a sclerosant. In a cross-over trial, 19 of 20 of his patients were successfully treated with this sclerotherapy.

Where tendon rupture is concerned, there are three main types of treatment: the open and the percutaneous operative methods, and nonoperative approaches.

Additional images


The popliteal, posterior tibial, and peroneal arteries.

Back of left lower extremity.

The mucous sheaths of the tendons around the ankle. Lateral aspect.

The mucous sheaths of the tendons around the ankle. Medial aspect.




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General anatomy of lower limbs
Buttocks and Thigh
Cnemis (anatomic leg)
Foot
Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. Created and updated by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), it is used by the MEDLINE/PubMed
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Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has substantial operations in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
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Achilles’ heel is a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength, actually or potentially leading to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, metaphorical references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to their downfall are common.
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A tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone and is built to withstand tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments except that ligaments join one bone to another.
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A leg is the part of an animal's body that supports the rest of the animal above the ground between the ankle and the hip and is used for locomotion. The end of the leg furthest from the animal's body is often either modified or attached to another structure that is
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muscle is a powerful superficial muscle that is in the back part of the lower leg (the calf). It runs from its 2 heads just above the knee to the heel, and is involved in standing and walking. Along with the soleus muscle it forms the calf muscle.
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In humans and some other mammals, the soleus is a powerful muscle in the back part of the lower leg (the calf). It runs from just below the knee to the heel, and is involved in standing and walking.
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MUSCLE (multiple sequence comparison by log-expectation) is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.
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calcaneus forms part of the tarsi and constitutes the heel of the human foot or the point of an animal's hock . It is also known as the heel bone.

Human

It articulates with two other tarsal bones, the talus above and the cuboid toward the midfoot.
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ankle joint is formed where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle, or talocrural joint, is a synovial hinge joint that connects the distal ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower limb with the proximal end of the talus bone in the foot.
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A bursa (plural bursae or bursas; Latin: Bursa synovialis) is a small fluid-filled sac located at the point where a muscle or tendon slides across bone. Bursae serve to reduce friction between the two moving surfaces.
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Not to be confused with Fuchsia.


Fascia (făsh'ē-ə), pl. fas·ci·ae (făsh'ē-ē), adj. fascial (făsh'ē-əl) (from latin: a band) is the soft tissue component of the connective tissue system that
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In zootomy, the integumentary system is the external covering of the body, comprising the skin, hair, feathers, scales, nails, sweat glands and their products (sweat and mucus).
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Areolar connective tissue (or loose connective tissue) is the most widely distributed connective tissue type in vertebrates.

Location

It can be found in the skin as well as in places that connect epithelium to other tissues.
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adipose tissue or fat is loose connective tissue composed of adipocytes. Its main role is to store energy in the form of fat, although it also cushions and insulates the body.
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The small saphenous vein (also lesser saphenous vein), is a relatively large vein of the superficial posterior leg.

Path

Its origin is where the dorsal vein from the fifth digit (smallest toe) merges with the dorsal venous arch of the foot, which attaches to the
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Achilles (also Akhilleus or Achilleus; Ancient Greek: Άχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the central character and greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s  860s  870s  - 880s -  890s  900s  910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Philip Verheyen (April 23, 1648 - January 28, 1711), was a Dutch surgeon.

His birth and the beginning of his education

As the third child of eight, Philip Verheyen was born in Verrebroek (most likely in his parents' house, standing on a small plot of owned land in the area
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Achilles’ heel is a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength, actually or potentially leading to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, metaphorical references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to their downfall are common.
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Achilles tendinitis is tendinitis of the Achilles tendon, generally precipitated by overuse of the affected limb and is more common among athletes training under less than ideal conditions.
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Inflammation (Latin, inflammatio, to set on fire) is the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants.
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Tendinosis, sometimes called chronic tendinitis, chronic tendinopathy or chronic tendon injury, is damage to a tendon at a cellular level. It is thought to be caused by microtears in the connective tissue in and around the tendon.
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Achilles tendon rupture commonly occurs as an acceleration injury e.g. pushing off or jumping up. Diagnosis is made by clinical history; typically people say it feels like being kicked or shot behind the ankle, and by examination, when a gap may be felt in the tendon, and Simmonds'
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Xanthoma
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 E 78.2 , K 13.4
ICD-9 272.2 , 374.51

DiseasesDB 28524

eMedicine derm/461  
MeSH D014973 A xanthoma (or xanthomata or xanthomatosis) (from Greek
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Familial hypercholesterolemia
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 E 78.0
ICD-9 272.0

OMIM 143890
DiseasesDB 4707
MedlinePlus 000392
eMedicine med/1072  

MeSH C16.320.565.556.
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Orthotics is the field concerned with the application and manufacture of orthoses, devices which support or correct human function.

The term is derived from the Greek "ortho", to straighten.
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Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, usually abbreviated to NSAIDs, are drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects - they reduce pain, fever and inflammation.
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Human anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the adult human body.[1] It is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy.[1]
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