On mechanical models for tendon: addendum and corrigendum

The purpose of this note is to comment on some models for the mechanical properties of tendon and to draw attention to a misprint in an earlier paper, Diamant et al , (1972), to which we were contributors. In the study published in 1972 we and our coauthors at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, presented optical and mechanical evidence for a planar zig-zag model of the basic load-bearing structure in rat-tail tendon interpreting the mechanical deformation by the theory of the extensible elastica. Because of an unfortunate misprint in the published paper, the validity of the elastica model has been called into question, and other theories explaining the load deformation behaviour of tendon have been proposed (Lanir 1978; Comninou & Yannas 1976).