The Menisco-femoral Ligaments of the Human Knee.

The menisco-femoral ligament is one of the most important accessory ligaments of the knee. It extends from the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus to the lateral aspect of the medial femoral condyle close to the femoral attachment of the posterior cruciate ligament. The accessory ligament may run behind or in front of the posterior cruciate ligament and is known either as the posterior menisco-femoral ligament of Wrisberg or the anterior meniscofemoral ligament of Humphrey. Both ligaments may be present in the same knee and are composed mainly of collagenous fibres (Candiollo and Gautero 1959). They vary in thickness from about five millimetres at the meniscal attachment to nine millimetres at the femoral attachment. Poirier and Charpy (1892) were the first to describe the menisco-femoral ligament but defined it as the “ third cruciate ligament.” Hadjiss#{233}limovitch (1955) classified the accessory ligaments in a different manner, describing the anterior menisco-femoral ligament as arising from the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus. Kaplan (1956) wrote of a lateral meniscofemoral ligament having an anterior and posterior part. Despite the lack ofconsistency in the terminology ofthe accessory ligaments it has become evident from a number of well verified reports that the incidence of the ligaments is quite high. When Radol#{233}vitch (1931) examined 105 knees the menisco-femoral ligament was present in 94 per cent. Brantigan and Voshell (1941), studying fifty knees from thigh amputations and in cadavers, found the incidence to be 100 per cent. In a study of fifty knees by Candiollo and Gautero (1959), the anterior and posterior menisco-femoral ligaments were found to be present in 80 per cent of the specimens. This report deals with the anatomical and functional significance of the menisco-femoral ligaments, their incidence and surgical importance.