Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc
DOI 10.1007/s00167-010-1134-0
KNEE
Contribution of the meniscofemoral ligament as a restraint
to the posterior tibial translation in a porcine knee
Pisit Lertwanich • Cesar A. Q. Martins • Yuki Kato •
Sheila J. M. Ingham • Scott Kramer • Monica Linde-Rosen
Patrick Smolinski • Freddie H. Fu
•
Received: 25 November 2009 / Accepted: 22 March 2010
Ó Springer-Verlag 2010
Abstract The meniscofemoral ligament (MFL) is a major
structure in the posterior aspect of the porcine knee together with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). While the
porcine knee is a frequently used animal model for biomechanical evaluation of PCL reconstruction techniques,
the contribution of the MFL to stability of the porcine knee
is not well understood. The purpose of this study is (1) to
evaluate the kinematics of the knee after sequential cutting
of the PCL and MFL and (2) to determine the in situ forces
of the PCL and MFL in response to a posterior tibial load
of 89 N using the robotic/universal force-moment sensor
system from 15° to 90° of knee flexion. Ten porcine knees
were used in this study. The magnitude of posterior tibial
translation under a posterior tibial load was significantly
increased (P \ 0.01) after sequential transection of the
PCL and the MFL at each testing angle compared to the
intact condition. The in situ force of the PCL was highest at
60° of flexion (82.3 ± 8.6 N) and lowest at 15° of flexion
P. Lertwanich C. A. Q. Martins Y. Kato S. J. M. Ingham M. Linde-Rosen P. Smolinski F. H. Fu (&)
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
P. Lertwanich
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery,
Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital,
Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
S. Kramer P. Smolinski F. H. Fu
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
(45.1 ± 15.9 N). The in situ force of the MFL was highest
at 15° of flexion (24.3 ± 6.5 N) and lowest at 90° of
flexion (12.9 ± 10.5 N). The findings in this study
revealed a biomechanical contribution of the MFL as the
secondary restraint to the posterior tibial translation in
conjunction with the PCL especially near full extension.
Keywords Meniscofemoral ligament Posterior cruciate ligament Pig Porcine Biomechanics In situ force
Introduction
The meniscofemoral ligament (MFL) is a major structure
in the posterior aspect of the porcine knee together with the
posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The MFL attaches from
the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus to the medial
aspect of the intercondylar area of the femur. Since
the porcine’s MFL is located posterior to the PCL, it is
comparable to the posterior meniscofemoral ligament
(Wrisberg’s ligament) in the human knee [6].
The porcine knee is a commonly used animal model for
biomechanical evaluation of the posterior cruciate ligament
reconstruction techniques [2, 10, 17, 19]. In spite of this,
the contribution of the MFL to knee stability in this animal
model is not well understood and a better understanding of
the biomechanical function of this ligament will further
facilitate PCL studies using the porcine model.
The purpose of this study is (1) to evaluate the kinematics of the knee after sequential transection of the PCL
and MFL and (2) to determine the in situ forces of the PCL
and MFL in response to posterior tibial load. It is
hypothesized that the MFL is the secondary restraint to the
posterior tibial translation in conjunction with the PCL.
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