The present invention relates to a force-transmitting element for a medical catheter. The element may, for example, be used in catheter introducers or stent delivery systems. An embodiment of the present invention may comprise a tube and a tubular sleeve, wherein the tube has formed through the wall thickness a plurality of axially-distributed slits formed so that the extent of each slit in the circumferential direction exceeds half of the circumference of the tube such that, when the tube is longitudinally flexed into a curve, the slits on the outside of the curve become relatively more opened and, when the element is subject to no external endwise compressive forces, the tube is retained by the tubular sleeve in a state of endwise compression such that the slits are relatively more closed than if the sleeve were absent.
