Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to directly compare the effects of Thiel embalming on the mechanical properties of three human tendons to similar tendons from the fresh-frozen, ipsilateral foot of the same cadavers.

Method: Following pre-conditioning, biomechanical tensile tests were conducted on tibialis anterior, peroneus longus and Achilles tendons at a strain rate of 5 mm/minute, using an optical extensometer for the direct measurement of sample strain.

Results: Qualitatively, all tested tendons exhibited similar mechanical behaviour characterised by an initial toe region followed by a region of linear behaviour. Quantitatively, however, averaging the results for the three cadaveric samples revealed consistent differences across all tendons in the case of unloading stiffness.

Conclusion: Thiel embalming method is suitable for preservation of human tendons, with embalmed tendons appearing to have similar mechanical behaviour compared to their fresh frozen counterparts. Although quantitative differences do exist, these do not disprove the use of Thiel embalmed tendons in comparative studies once care is exercised when utilizing these for biomechanical testing. However, in vitro results used to infer in vivo function should always be treated with caution.

Keywords: Biomechanical Properties; Human Fresh-Frozen; Thiel Embalmed Foot Tendons

References

1. Unger S., et al. “Effects of three different preservation methods on the mechanical properties of human and bovine cortical bone”. Bone6 (2010): 1048-1053.
2. Thiel W. “The preservation of the whole corpse with natural color”. Annals of Anatomy 3 (1992): 185-195.
3. Wilke HJ., et al. “Thiel-fixation preserves the non-linear load-deformation characteristic of spinal motion segments, but increases their flexibility”. The Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 8 (2011): 2133-2137.
4. Benkhadra M., et al. “Flexibility of Thiel's embalmed cadavers: the explanation is probably in the muscles”. Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy4 (2011): 365-368.
5. Fessel G., et al. “Suitability of Thiel embalmed tendons for biomechanical investigation”. Annals of Anatomy3 (2011): 237-241.
6. Liao X., et al. “Elastic properties of Thiel-embalmed human ankle tendon and ligament”. Clinical Anatomy7 (2015): 917-924.
7. Verstraete MA., et al. “Impact of drying and thiel embalming on mechanical properties of achilles tendons”. Clinical Anatomy8 (2015): 994-1001.
8. Rigozzi S., et al. “Local strain measurement reveals a varied regional dependence of tensile tendon mechanics on glycosaminoglycan content”. Journal of Biomechanics10 (2009): 1547-1552.
9. Maganaris CN. “Tendon conditioning: artefact or property?” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences1 (2003): S39-42.
10. Chatzistergos PE., et al. “The Fracture Stress of Rat Achilles Tendons”. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 37 (2010): 149.
11. Riemersa DJ and Schamhardt HC. “The cryo-jaw, a clamp designed for in vitro rheology studies of horse digital flexor tendons”. The Journal of Biomechanics8 (1982): 619-620.

Citation

Citation: Alfred Gatt., et al. “The Biomechanical Properties of Human Fresh-Frozen vs Thiel Embalmed Foot Tendons".Acta Scientific Orthopaedics 4.11 (2021): 19-23.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Alfred Gatt., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.