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A study of the relationship between mineral content and mechanical properties of turkey gastrocnemius tendonThe vertebrate skeletal system undergoes adaptation in response to external forces, but the relation between the skeletal changes and such forces is not understood. In this context, the variation in the amount and location of calcification has been compared with changes in mechanical properties of the normally mineralizing turkey gastrocnemius tendon using ash weight measurements, X-ray radiography, and mechanical testing. Radiographic evidence from 12- to 17-week-old birds showed calcification in only portions of gastrocnemius tendons proximal to the tarsometatarsal joint. Mechanical testing of these dissected proximal regions demonstrated an increased ultimate stress and modulus and a decreased maximum strain that appeared to parallel calcification. Further, stress-strain curves of portions of uncalcified turkey gastrocnemius tendon were shaped similar to those of other typical unmineralized tendon curves while highly calcified tendons yielded curves resembling those of bone. The proximal portions of the gastrocnemius where mineralization begins were observed to have a decreased tendon cross-sectional area compared with distal portions which do not mineralize. Based on the resultant measures of mineral content and location and mechanical properties, it is hypothesized that increased calcification is a result of increased stresses at certain locations of the tendon, perhaps the consequence of the natural forces exerted by the large leg muscles of the bird into which the gastrocnemius inserts. More specifically, tendon calcification may be the result of stress-induced exposure of charged sites on the surfaces of collagen molecules, fibrils, or fibers so that deposition of mineral and subsequent mechanical reinforcement occur in the tissue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).
Document ID
20050000189
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Landis, W. J.
(Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts, United States)
Librizzi, J. J.
Dunn, M. G.
Silver, F. H.
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
June 1, 1995
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
Volume: 10
Issue: 6
ISSN: 0884-0431
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: AR 34081
CONTRACT_GRANT: AR 34078
CONTRACT_GRANT: AR 41452
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Non-NASA Center
NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal

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