Meniscofemoral ligament
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At the time the article was created Ayush Goel had no recorded disclosures.
View Ayush Goel's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Henry Knipe had the following disclosures:
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View Henry Knipe's current disclosures- Meniscofemoral ligaments
- Meniscofemoral ligament (MFL)
The meniscofemoral ligament (MFL) arises from the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus and passes to attach to the lateral aspect of the medial femoral condyle. It splits into two bands at the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), which are named in relation to the PCL:
A handy mnemonic to recall the relationship is here.
Variant anatomy
The MFL is variably described as either possessing one band (~35%) or as described above, possessing two bands (~65%) 3.
Approximately 80% (range 65%-100%) of people will have at least one MFL with the posterior MFL (50-70%) more commonly present than the anterior MFL (10%-25%). 20-30% of people will have both anterior and posterior MFLs 2.
Related pathology
tear of the meniscofemoral ligament: Wrisberg rip 6
on sagittal MR images, the MFL may mimic an intra-articular loose body or meniscal fragment 5
References
- 1. Butler P, Mitchell A, Healy JC. Applied Radiological Anatomy. Cambridge University Press. (2012) ISBN:0521766664. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 2. Bintoudi A, Natsis K, Tsitouridis I. Anterior and posterior meniscofemoral ligaments: MRI evaluation. Anat Res Int. 2012;2012: 839724. doi:10.1155/2012/839724 - Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
- 3. Poynton AR, Javadpour SM, Finegan PJ et-al. The meniscofemoral ligaments of the knee. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1997;79 (2): 327-30. Pubmed citation
- 4. Gupte CM, Smith A, McDermott ID et-al. Meniscofemoral ligaments revisited. Anatomical study, age correlation and clinical implications. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2002;84 (6): 846-51. Pubmed citation
- 5. Brant WE, Helms C. Fundamentals of Diagnostic Radiology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. (2012) ISBN:1608319113. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 6. Mohankumar R, White LM, Naraghi A. Pitfalls and pearls in MRI of the knee. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2014;203 (3): 516-30. doi:10.2214/AJR.14.12969 - Pubmed citation
Incoming Links
- Popliteomeniscal fascicles
- Medial collateral ligament of the knee
- Meniscal tear
- Posterior cruciate ligament tear
- Anterior meniscofemoral ligament (of Humphrey)
- Meniscofemoral ligament (mnemonic)
- Knee menisci
- Posterior meniscofemoral ligament (of Wrisberg)
- Double posterior cruciate ligament sign
- Discoid meniscus
- Wrisberg rip
- Normal posterior meniscofemoral ligament - ligament of Wrisberg
- Knee menisci (Gray's illustration)
- Internal knee ligaments (Gray's illustrations)
- Unstable discoid lateral meniscus
- Meniscal tear with synovial hyperplasia
- Avulsion fracture menisco-capsular attachment medial femoral condyle
- Ligament of Wrisberg
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