Alfred Gatt1,2*, Nachiappan Chockalingam1,2, Panagiotis Chatzistergos2, Ruben Gatt3, Pierre Schembri-Wismayer4, Joseph N Grima3 and Cynthia Formosa1,2
1Podiatry Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
2Centre for Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Technologies, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom
3Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
4Department of Metamaterials, Faculty of Science, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
*Corresponding Author: Alfred Gatt, Podiatry Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.
Received: September 23, 2021; Published:
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
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: © 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.