Table 4.

Structure and Task of Tendons and Ligaments

	Tendon	Ligament
Structure	Tendon cells	Unbranched collagen fibres which give tensile strength in the longitudinal direction
	Intercellular substance	Good flexibility
	Tendon fibres made from collagen	Slight distensibility
		In addition net-like structured branched elastic fibres with good distensibility
		Stable with acids and alkalis
Task	Support tissue to anchor the skeletal muscle with the periosteum	High-tensile connective tissue ribbon-like structure for sensible functional restriction of range of movement