An anatomical study of the meniscal roots of the knee: landmarks for its surgical reconstruction and implications for knee surgeons.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of this anatomical study was to describe the anatomy of the meniscal roots and their relationships with respect to the main adjacent structures in order to improve their surgical reconstruction. METHODS: Fourteen knees were included. The mean age of the donors was 92 years (range 89-96). We studied the general characteristics of the anterior and posterior roots of the medial meniscus and lateral meniscus by measuring their widths at their base and area. We investigated the relations between anterior and posterior roots of the medial and lateral menisci with respect to the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments (ACL and PCL). RESULTS: The mean width of the anterior root of the lateral meniscus was 10.5 ± 1.4 mm. The mean width of the anterior root of the medial meniscus was 10 ± 1.5 mm. The mean width of the posterior root of lateral meniscus was 11.4 ± 1.4 mm. The mean width of the posterior root of medial meniscus was 10.5 ± 1.0 mm. The mean distance between the anterior cruciate ligament and the anterior root of lateral meniscus was 9.8 ± 2.9 mm, for the medial meniscus it was 15.9 ± 3.4 mm. The mean distance between the posterior cruciate ligament and the posterior root of the lateral meniscus was 11.5 ± 2.7 mm, for the medial meniscus, it was 11 ± 2.6 mm. CONCLUSION: The anterior and posterior meniscal roots have precise landmarks, and this article contributes to define the location of the meniscal roots with respect to their adjacent anatomical structures ACL, PCL and intercondylar tubercle. Having precise measures of the distances between the meniscus roots and these structures allows knee surgeons to perform ACL reconstruction, meniscal root repair and meniscal allograft transplantation.