Raman spectroscopy of soft musculoskeletal tissues.

Tendon, ligament, and joint tissues are important in maintaining daily function. They can be affected by disease, age, and injury. Slow tissue turnover, hierarchical structure and function, and nonlinear mechanical properties present challenges to diagnosing and treating soft musculoskeletal tissues. Understanding these tissues in health, disease, and injury is important to improving pharmacologic and surgical repair outcomes. Raman spectroscopy is an important tool in the examination of soft musculoskeletal tissues. This article highlights exciting basic science and clinical/translational Raman studies of cartilage, tendon, and ligament.