Tendon and degeneration or weakening of the tendons, which may eventually lead to tendon rupture. Tendinopathies can be caused by a number of factors relating to the tendon extracellular matrix (ECM), and their classification has been difficult because their symptoms and histopathology often are similar. The first category of tendinopathy is paratenonitis, which refers to inflammation of the paratenon, or paratendinous sheet located between the tendon and its sheath. Tendinosis refers to non-inflammatory injury to the tendon at the cellular level. The degradation is caused by damage to collagen, cells, and the vascular components of the tendon, and is known to
Conjoint tendon A weakening of the conjoint tendon can precipitate a direct inguinal hernia. A direct inguinal hernia will protrude through Hesselbach's triangle, whose borders are the rectus abdominis (medially), inferior epigastric artery and vein (superolaterally), and the inguinal ligament (inferiorly). The hernia will lie medial to the inferior epigastric artery. This is in contrast to an indirect inguinal hernia, which will protrude laterally to the inferior epigastric artery and is most commonly due to an embryological defect in the closure of the deep inguinal ring. Conjoint tendon The conjoint tendon (previously known as the inguinal aponeurotic falx) is a structure formed