Investigations of water transport in rabbit Achilles tendon under load [using NMR images]

NMR images of rabbit Achilles tendon were acquired with nominal and 500 g mass tensile loads applied. T₁-, T₂- and ADC maps were calculated from these images and used to observe the spatial changes in these parameters between nominal and loaded states. Results from these experiments indicate a two-compartment system exists in tendon: a central core region and a surrounding rim region. The calculated ADC maps show a rise in average ADC in each region between the nominal and loaded states. This information indicates a transport of water from the central core region, with a restricted diffusion environment, to the peripheral rim, region with a relatively unrestricted diffusion environment