Morphological Study of the Menisci of the Knee Joint in Adult Cadavers of North Indian Population

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe Menisci are semi-lunar crescent shaped fibro-cartilages which serve to widen and deepen the articulation of tibial surfaces that receive the femur condyles forming the knee joint. OBJECTIVETo assess the incidence of different shapes of the medial and lateral meniscus and the incidence of discoid meniscus in the North Indian population. METHODSThe study included 112 menisci from 56 adult cadavers knee joint irrespective of sex that were preserved in 10% formalin. After methodical dissection procedure the morphological variants of the shape of menisci were macroscopically noted and classified. The medial menisci were sub-grouped as crescent-shaped, Vshaped, Ushaped, Cshaped and sickle shaped. Lateral menisci were sub-grouped as crescent-shaped, Cshaped and discoid-shaped. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSIn the present study, 80% of the medial menisci were crescent shaped, 12.8% were V-shaped while 7.2% sickle-shaped. Among the lateral menisci, maximum number of specimen were C-shaped i.e. 78% followed by crescent shaped in 19% and discoid shaped in 3% specimen. Knowledge of various shapes of meniscii would be useful for health professionals who treat athletes with suspected meniscal tear. Key-wordsKnee, Lateral meniscus, Medial meniscus, Shape, Discoid -------------------------------------------------IJLSSR----------------------------------------------INTRODUCTION The Menisci of the knee joint are to be considered main elements for perfect articulation among the articular osseous surfaces. Menisci are semicircular shaped fibro cartilagenous structures with bony attachments at the anterior and posterior aspect of tibial plateau and are wedged between femoral condyles and tibial plateau, the medial and lateral sides of the knee joint. [1] It is a double condyloid joint with 20 degree of freedom of motion. The functions of menisci include shock absorption, load transmission and improve joint stability pro-prioception, joint lubrication and nutrition. [2] Access this article online Quick Response Code: Website: www.ijlssr.com