Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann Strasse 9, Cologne 50733, Germany.
Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2009 Nov;17(11):1368-76. doi: 10.1007/s00167-009-0870-5. Epub 2009 Jul 25.
Side-to-side comparison of anatomical or functional parameters in the evaluation of unilateral pathologies of the human knee joint is common practice, although the amount of symmetry is unknown. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that there are no significant differences in the morphometric knee joint dimensions between the right and the left knee of a human subject and that side differences within subjects are smaller than intersubject variability. In 20 pairs of human cadaver knees, the morphometry of the articulating osseous structures of the femorotibial joint, the cruciate ligaments, and the menisci were measured using established measurement methods. Data were analyzed for overall side differences and the ratio between within-subject side differences and intersubject variability was calculated. In three out of 71 morphometric dimensions there was a significant side difference, including the posterior tibial slope, the anatomical valgus alignment of the distal femur, and the position of the femoral insertion area of the ACL. In two additional parameters, including the cross-sectional area of the ACL and PCL, within-subject side differences were larger than intersubject variability. In general, there was a positive correlation in morphometric dimensions between right and left knees in one subject. It is concluded that a good correlation in the morphometric dimensions of a human knee joint exists between the right and the left side. This study supports the concepts of obtaining morphometric reference data from the contralateral uninjured side in the evaluation of unilateral pathologies of the knee joint.
在评估人类膝关节的单侧病变时，对解剖学或功能参数进行左右侧比较是常见做法，尽管对称性的程度未知。本研究的目的是检验以下假设：在人体膝关节中，右膝和左膝的形态学关节尺寸没有显著差异，并且受试者内的侧间差异小于受试者间的变异性。在 20 对人体尸体膝关节中，使用既定的测量方法测量了股胫关节的关节骨结构、交叉韧带和半月板的形态。对整体侧间差异进行了数据分析，并计算了受试者内侧间差异与受试者间变异性的比值。在 71 个形态学尺寸中的 3 个中存在显著的侧间差异，包括胫骨后倾、远端股骨的解剖外翻对线和 ACL 的股骨插入区域的位置。在另外两个参数中，包括 ACL 和 PCL 的横截面积，受试者内侧间差异大于受试者间变异性。一般来说，同一受试者的右膝和左膝的形态学尺寸之间存在正相关。结论是，人类膝关节的右膝和左膝之间存在良好的形态学尺寸相关性。本研究支持在评估膝关节单侧病变时，从对侧未受伤侧获得形态学参考数据的概念。
