structurestrength relations in mammalian tendon the stressstrain relations in mammalian tendon are analyzed in terms of the structure and mechanics of its constituents the model considers the tensile and bending strength of the collagen fibers the tensile strength of the elastin fibers and the interaction between the matrix and the collagen fibers the stressstrain relations are solved through variational considerations by assuming that the fibermaxtrix interactions can be modeled as beam on elastic foundation the tissue thus modeled is a hyperelastic material it is further shown that on the basis of the model the dominant parameters to the tendons behavior can be evaluated from simple tensile tests