Mechanical properties of the rabbit patellar tendon.

The mechanical and structural properties of the patellar tendon fascicle-bone units of rabbit knees were determined by tensile tests, particularly focusing on their local differences. There were no significant differences in the strains measured by a video dimension analyzer among the proximal, middle, and distal regions of the central portion of tendon. The mechanical properties of the medial portion agreed well with those of the central portion. However, significant differences were observed in the tensile strength between the lateral and the other two portions: the tensile strength of the lateral portion was about 16 percent larger than those in the other portions.