Laboratory of Applied Morphology-LEMA, Universidade Federal Do Espirito Santo, Av. Marechal Campos, 1468, Maruipe, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, 29043-900, Brazil.
Surg Radiol Anat. 2021 Jul;43(7):1117-1122. doi: 10.1007/s00276-020-02665-7. Epub 2021 Jan 8.
The purpose of this study was to investigate if the anterolateral ligament of the knee (ALL) is present in the human fetus and describe its topography along with other structures of the region.
Forty human fetuses knee joints, at mean age 34 weeks (± 2.57 weeks), fixed in 10% formalin, were submitted to cross-sectional dissection and mesoscopic analysis.
The ALL was not identified, although the usual topography of the region was identified in all specimens: skin, subcutaneous tissue, iliotibial tract (ITT), fibular collateral ligament, popliteal muscle tendon, lateral meniscus, patellar ligament, infrapatellar fat pad, lateral patellar retinaculum, knee joint capsule, lateral inferior genicular vessels, and the biceps femoris tendon. The ITT reveals anterior (n = 12) and lateral thickening (n = 17) in some specimens. This thickening was found in both knees of the same subject in 6/20 specimens.
The anterolateral ligament of the knee is not a congenital or solid structure. Our results suggest that the ALL may be a deep layer of the ITT or part of the knee joint capsule, or its identification is evaluator dependent.
本研究旨在探讨膝关节前外侧韧带（ALL）在人胎儿中是否存在，并描述其在该区域的其他结构的解剖学特征。
40 个人类胎儿膝关节，平均胎龄 34 周（±2.57 周），用 10%甲醛固定，进行横断面解剖和中观分析。
未发现 ALL，但在所有标本中均识别出该区域的通常解剖学特征：皮肤、皮下组织、髂胫束（ITT）、腓侧副韧带、腘肌肌腱、外侧半月板、髌韧带、髌下脂肪垫、外侧髌韧带、膝关节囊、膝下外侧血管和股二头肌肌腱。在一些标本中，ITT 显示出前侧（n=12）和外侧增厚（n=17）。在 20 个标本中的 6 个中，在同一受试者的双膝中均发现了这种增厚。
膝关节前外侧韧带不是先天性或实质性结构。我们的结果表明，ALL 可能是 ITT 的深层结构或膝关节囊的一部分，或者其识别取决于评估者。
