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Knee anatomy: meniscus

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Written by Garotta Lorenzo   
The image #1 clearly shows a triangular section of the meniscus. It can be easily seen that the blood supply to the meniscus comes from the periphery of the meniscus, which is closely related to the capsule of the knee, at the center. The black fibers - on the left in this image - are micro blood vessels which can’t reach the most central part of the meniscus (point of the triangle). This is the reason why a meniscal injury (when it  is not peripheral) can have difficulty in healing spontaneously.

This plastic model (image #2)  shows, from the top, the semicircular shape of the two menisci, medial meniscus (MI) and lateral meniscus (ME). They are firmly attached to the tibia (PT) by bony anchors; in the center of the are clearly visible the  tibial insertion of the anterior cruciate ligament (LCA) and behind it, the posterior cruciate ligament (LCP).

This anatomic specimen (image #3)  shows – from the top- the semicircular shape of the two menisci, medial (MI) and lateral (ME). The lateral meniscus is shaped like an incomplete letter “O”; the medial meniscus is more open, like the letter "C". The two menisci are firmly anchored to the bone (Pt); in the center of the articulation are visible the  tibial insertion of the anterior cruciate ligament (LCA) and behind it, the posterior cruciate ligament (LCP).

            Image # 1  

Thanks to  Dr. S.P. Arnocsky        

  menisco_e_vascolarizzazione_1 *
  Image #2

 

menischi_da_alto
Image #3

 

vista_alto_con_menischi_nuova




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Last Updated on Tuesday, 05 October 2010 08:52