apodeme

Tendons and apodemes have elastic properties. Tendons in the legs of mammals serve as springs, reducing the energy cost of running: energy that is lost as the foot hits the ground and decelerates the body is stored as elastic strain energy in tendons and is subsequently returned…

Internally, apodemes are hollow rods or flanges derived from the cuticle; they extend inward from the exoskeleton. Apodemes have a function similar to the bones of vertebrates, for they provide sites for muscle insertion, thereby allowing the leverage that can cause movement of other parts of…