Gene

Extant taxon

Tendon

Biology

Biochemistry

Vertebrate

Geology

Evolutionary biology

Radiology

Paleontology

Enthesis

Anatomy

Medicine

X-ray microtomography

PLoS ONE

Firm attachments binding muscles to skeleton are crucial mechanical components of the vertebrate body. These attachments (entheses) are complex three-dimensional structures, containing distinctive arrangements of cells and fibre systems embedded in the bone, which can be modified during ontogeny. Until recently it has only been possible to obtain 2D surface and thin section images of entheses, leaving their 3D histology largely unstudied except by extrapolation from 2D data. Entheses are frequently preserved in fossil bones, but sectioning is inappropriate for rare or unique fossil material.

3D Microstructural Architecture of Muscle Attachments in Extant and Fossil Vertebrates Revealed by Synchrotron Microtomography