The menisci and articular cartilage: a life-long fascination

EFORT Open Reviews

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Sebastian Kopf¹  Manuel-Paul Sava¹  Christian Stärke¹  Roland Becker¹ 

[1] Center of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Medical School Brandenburg Theodor Fontane

关键词: arthroscopic partial meniscectomy;    cartilage;    conservative treatment;    meniscus;    meniscus ‘ramp’ lesions;    meniscus repair;    meniscus roots;    osteoarthritis;   

DOI  :  10.1302/2058-5241.5.200016

学科分类：神经科学

来源: The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery

【 摘 要 】

The close anatomical and functional relationship of menisci and articular cartilage, in many parts very similar organs, starts during their embryological development. Both articular cartilage and menisci, medial and lateral, originate from the interzone cells.1 Menisci, also known as semilunar cartilages, cover a large part of the cartilage of the tibial plateau (Fig. 1), whereby the cartilage of the femoral condyle slides during movement of the knee above the menisci and the uncovered chondral parts of the tibial plateau. Menisci have several fixation points. The roots of the meniscus are the main stabilizers. Each human meniscus has an anterior and a posterior root. The roots are ligamentous structures connecting the meniscus horns to the tibial plateau. In addition, the posterior root of the lateral meniscus has two inconsistently existing stabilizers: the anterior and posterior meniscofemoral ligaments (Humphrey and Wrisberg), originally described by the German anatomist Josias Weitbrecht in 1742 (Fig. 2).2–4 However, there are more structures that provide stability to the menisci, for example, the transverse ligament connecting both anterior meniscus horns and the coronary ligament including the ‘meniscus ramp’. The meniscus ramp is the part of the coronary ligament which connects the posterior horn of the medial meniscus to the tibial head.

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