Department of Rehabilitation, Hokkaido Chitose College of Rehabilitation, Chitose, Japan.
Department of Rehabilitation, Sapporo Maruyama Orthopaedic Hospital, Sapporo, Japan.
Surg Radiol Anat. 2020 Oct;42(10):1153-1159. doi: 10.1007/s00276-020-02461-3. Epub 2020 Mar 30.
The relevance of each ligament comprising the lateral ankle ligament complex, including the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL), calcaneofibular ligament (CFL), and posterior talofibular ligament (PTFL), has not been sufficiently elucidated; therefore, we aimed to clarify the morphological characteristics and relevance of these ligaments.
Total 152 legs from 152 Japanese cadavers were investigated. The lengths and widths of the ATFL, CFL, and PTFL were measured using a caliper. The ATFL was classified according to the number of fiber bundles (Types I, II, and III corresponded to one, two, and three fiber bundles, respectively), and the lengths and widths of the three ligaments were compared between the Type groups. In addition, the ratio of each ligament's length and width to the tibial length was calculated, and the correlation of the ratio of ligament length and width between the ATFL, CFL, and PTFL was examined about 34 legs.
The ATFL, CFL, and PTFL were found to connect at the anterior/inferior tip of the lateral malleolus each other. The Type II group of the ATFL was most common (54.6%) in our investigated specimens. However, there were no significant inter-group differences in the lengths and widths of the CFL and PTFL.
This study demonstrates that the lateral ankle ligaments may stabilize the ankle joint through interconnections.
外侧踝关节韧带复合体包括距腓前韧带（ATFL）、跟腓韧带（CFL）和距腓后韧带（PTFL），各韧带的相关性尚未得到充分阐明；因此，我们旨在阐明这些韧带的形态特征和相关性。
研究了来自 152 具日本尸体的总共 152 条腿。使用卡尺测量 ATFL、CFL 和 PTFL 的长度和宽度。根据纤维束的数量对 ATFL 进行分类（I 型、II 型和 III 型分别对应于一个、两个和三个纤维束），并比较了各型 ATFL 的长度和宽度。此外，计算了三条韧带的长度和宽度与胫骨长度的比值，并对 34 条腿的 ATFL、CFL 和 PTFL 之间韧带长度和宽度比值的相关性进行了检查。
发现 ATFL、CFL 和 PTFL 相互连接于外踝的前/下侧尖端。在我们研究的标本中，ATFL 的 II 型最常见（54.6%）。然而，CFL 和 PTFL 的长度和宽度在各型之间没有显著差异。
本研究表明，外侧踝关节韧带可能通过相互连接来稳定踝关节。
