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Skeletal muscular tissue can be directly attached to bone or indirectly. An indirect attachment involves a tendon or aponeurosis that connects the skeletal muscle to bone.
Tendons
Tendons are rope-like masses of dense regular connective tissue. Tendons are extensions of the epimysium of a skeletal muscle. As the muscle contracts, it pulls on the tendon, moving the bone. The collagenA structural protein in the dermis that provides strength and elasticity. fibers of a tendon are all arranged in the direction of this force.
Aponeuroses
Aponeuroses are sheets of dense connective tissue that connect skeletal muscle to bone or even muscle to muscle sometimes. The epicranius muscle has two bellies or patches of muscle connected by an aponeurosis. The frontalForehead bone; forms the front part of the skull and roof of the orbits. Smooth and curved. belly of the epicranius (also called the frontalisFrontalis Elevator / Brow raiser Across your forehead; raises your eyebrows and wrinkles your forehe) helps you wrinkle your forehead. This patch of muscle is connected by an aponeurosis to the occipitalPosterior and base of the skull; curves under to form the back of the head. belly (also called occipitalisOccipitalis Extensor / Scalp puller At the back of your head; pulls the scalp backward.). If you wrinkle your forehead, you can feel the occipitalis being lifted from tension applied by the frontalis.
Figure 1: Plantar skin and tendon, homo, H&E, 40X Slide 106
Figure 2: Esophagus and stomach, H&E, 40X Slide 155
All by University of Michigan Histology, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
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List of terms
- collagen
- frontal
- frontalis
- occipital
- occipitalis