Rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament of the knee.

Injury to the posterior cruciate ligament of the knee joint is believed to be uncommon except in association with severe general ligament rupture and dislocation of the knee joint. The isolated injury has been described in the literature, however, in particular by Abbott, Saunders, Bost and Anderson (1944), though no large series has been reported. This paper is based on seventeen cases seen from 1960 to 1965 in which rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament was the predominant feature of the knee joint injury. The injury is often not diagnosed and it is more common than is realised. Usually surgical repair is not done for a number of reasons, such as the belief that conservative treatment is always satisfactory, or because the injury is not diagnosed, or because it is thought that the ligament is too inaccessible for satisfactory repair.