The Achilles tendon is the powerful, cordlike band of connective tissue that joins the fused muscles of the calf to the bone of the heel.
It is the thickest tendon in the human body. The Achilles tendon can receive a load stress 3.9 times body weight during walking and 7.7 times body weight when running.
Because bones are moved by muscles pulling on the connecting tendon, severance or rupture of the Achilles tendon results in immediate loss of the normal use of the leg and foot.
The name of the tendon is derived from the legendary Greek warrior Achilles. The story goes that his mother Thetis held him by the heel when she dipped him in the River Styx as an infant to make him invulnerable, but the heel in her hand remained dry. Because of that, Achilles' heel was still vulnerable. According to the legend, the hero was shot many times by the poisoned arrows of Paris, but was slain by the one that wounded his heel, his only weak spot. Hence the phrase 'Achilles heel' is used for a person's small but potentially damaging weakness.
The oldest-known written record of the tendon being named for Achilles is in 1693 by the Flemish/Dutch anatomist Philip Verheyen.
In 1907, Australian dancer Victor Goulet had one of his Achilles tendons replaced with a wallaby’s.
31 inmates of Louisiana's Angola prison cut their Achilles' tendons to protest deplorable living conditions. This prompted national news agencies to write exposé stories on inmate life, leading to prison reform.
When Brad Pitt played Achilles in the 2004 movie Troy, he coincidentally tore his Achilles tendon while filming a fight scene and could not shoot for ten weeks.
It is the thickest tendon in the human body. The Achilles tendon can receive a load stress 3.9 times body weight during walking and 7.7 times body weight when running.
Because bones are moved by muscles pulling on the connecting tendon, severance or rupture of the Achilles tendon results in immediate loss of the normal use of the leg and foot.
The name of the tendon is derived from the legendary Greek warrior Achilles. The story goes that his mother Thetis held him by the heel when she dipped him in the River Styx as an infant to make him invulnerable, but the heel in her hand remained dry. Because of that, Achilles' heel was still vulnerable. According to the legend, the hero was shot many times by the poisoned arrows of Paris, but was slain by the one that wounded his heel, his only weak spot. Hence the phrase 'Achilles heel' is used for a person's small but potentially damaging weakness.
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| Thetis Dipping the Infant Achilles into the River Styx by Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1625) |
The oldest-known written record of the tendon being named for Achilles is in 1693 by the Flemish/Dutch anatomist Philip Verheyen.
In 1907, Australian dancer Victor Goulet had one of his Achilles tendons replaced with a wallaby’s.
31 inmates of Louisiana's Angola prison cut their Achilles' tendons to protest deplorable living conditions. This prompted national news agencies to write exposé stories on inmate life, leading to prison reform.
When Brad Pitt played Achilles in the 2004 movie Troy, he coincidentally tore his Achilles tendon while filming a fight scene and could not shoot for ten weeks.
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