The Anatomy of the Muscle Insertion (Scleromuscular Junction) of the Lateral and Medial Rectus Muscle in Humans

Abstract

Based on the results of this postmortem study in humans the term "muscle tendon" should be used with caution for the insertional area (scleromuscular junction) of the lateral and medial extraocular muscles. Light microscopy, histochemistry, and immunohistochemistry demonstrate that the tissue at the scleromuscular junction contains striated muscle with minimal connective (tendinous) tissue connecting to the sclera. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study in which enzyme histochemistry and immunohistochemistry have been used to investigate the anatomy of the insertional area (muscle-tendon-sclera junction) of the extraocular muscles in humans.