| Achilles tendon | |
|---|---|
 The Achilles tendon or calcaneal tendon is attached to the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. | |
| Details | |
| Location | Back of the lower leg |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | tendo calcaneus, tendo Achillis |
| MeSH | D000125 |
| TA98 | A04.7.02.048 |
| TA2 | 2662 |
| FMA | 51061 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body.[1][2][3][4][5][6][excessive citations] It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (heel) bone. These muscles, acting via the tendon, cause plantar flexion of the foot at the ankle joint, and (except the soleus) flexion at the knee.
Abnormalities of the Achilles tendon include inflammation (Achilles tendinitis), degeneration, rupture, and becoming embedded with cholesterol deposits (xanthomas).
The Achilles tendon was named in 1693 after the Greek hero Achilles.[7]
- ^ Doral MN, Alam M, Bozkurt M, Turhan E, Atay OA, Dönmez G, Maffulli N (May 2010). "Functional anatomy of the Achilles tendon". Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy. 18 (5): 638–643. doi:10.1007/s00167-010-1083-7. PMID 20182867. S2CID 24159374.
- ^ Richardson TG (1854). Elements of human anatomy: general, descriptive, and practical. Lippincott, Grambo, and Co. pp. 441–.
- ^ McGlamry ED, Banks AS (1 June 2001). McGlamry's comprehensive textbook of foot and ankle surgery. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 978-0-683-30471-8.
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- ^ Voermans NC, Huijing PA (February 2013). "Fascia-related disorders: Hypermobility.". In Schleip R, Findley TW, Chaitow L, Huijing P (eds.). Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body: The science and clinical applications in manual and movement therapy. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 218–. ISBN 978-0-7020-5228-6.
- ^ Ballard C (27 June 2003). Muscles. Heinemann Library. ISBN 978-1-4034-3300-8.
- ^ Taylor RB (2017). The Amazing Language of Medicine: Understanding Medical Terms and Their Backstories. Springer. p. 2. ISBN 9783319503288.