In Vivo and in Vitro Morphological Study of Epitenon Cell Populations in Chickens

Abstract

The following study was conducted to classify cell populations found in the epitenon of the deep digital flexor tendons of chickens. Tendons heal very slowly and in many cases the prognosis of mechanical recovery following repair is very poor. Although various surgical and grafting procedures exist, satisfactory healing is dependent on achieving a balance between initial immobilization and passive controlled motion following repair. Well-defined post-operative exercise regimens are not readily available to deal with the diversity of tendon injuries and patient variability. What is needed is an additional treatment option to reduce post-operative healing time. One approach would be the incorporation of tendon cells at the site of injury to decrease the time of immobilization. Cell populations present in the epitenon are actively involved in healing, however, the various epitenon populations have not been well characterized. The following study was designed to classify epitenon cell populations of the chicken deep digital flexor tendon which has been previously used as a model for the study of tendon healing.