Wang Huizhi, Zhang Zhuoyue, Shi Qinyi, Zeng Yi-Ming, Cheng Cheng-Kung
School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2023 Feb 9;10:1115068. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1115068. eCollection 2023.
Knowledge of the morphological features of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is critical for accurate reconstruction of it. This study aimed to explore the quantitative correlations among different morphological features of the ACL, thus to provide useful information for improving anatomical reconstruction techniques and designing artificial ligaments.
19 porcine knees were fixed at full extension using 10% formalin and were dissected to expose the ACL. ACL lengths were measured using a caliper. Mid-substances of the ACL were cut and scanned using X-ray microscopy, and the cross-sectional area (CSA) was measured at the isthmus. Margins of direct and indirect bone insertion sites were distinguished and marked. Measurements were performed on digital photographs to obtain the areas of bone insertions. Statistical analysis using nonlinear regression was used to identify potential correlations among the measurements.
The results showed that the CSA at the isthmus was significantly correlated with the total area of the bone insertion sites and the area of tibial insertion. The area of the tibial insertion was significantly correlated with the area of its direct insertion site. In contrast, the area of the femoral insertion was significantly correlated with the area of its indirect insertion site. The area of the indirect tibial insertion showed a weak correlation with the length of ACL, whereas the length of the ACL was not able to predict or be predicted by any other parameters.
The CSA at the ACL isthmus is more representative for assessing the size of the ACL. However, ACL length has little correlation with the CSA of the isthmus or bone insertion sites, and thus should be evaluated independently for ACL reconstruction.
了解前交叉韧带（ACL）的形态特征对于其精确重建至关重要。本研究旨在探索ACL不同形态特征之间的定量相关性，从而为改进解剖重建技术和设计人工韧带提供有用信息。
19个猪膝关节用10%福尔马林固定于完全伸展位，然后进行解剖以暴露ACL。用卡尺测量ACL长度。截取ACL的中间部分，用X射线显微镜扫描，并在峡部测量横截面积（CSA）。区分并标记直接和间接骨附着部位的边缘。在数码照片上进行测量以获得骨附着面积。使用非线性回归进行统计分析以确定测量值之间的潜在相关性。
结果表明，峡部的CSA与骨附着部位的总面积和胫骨附着面积显著相关。胫骨附着面积与其直接附着部位的面积显著相关。相比之下，股骨附着面积与其间接附着部位的面积显著相关。胫骨间接附着面积与ACL长度呈弱相关，而ACL长度无法由任何其他参数预测或用于预测其他参数。
ACL峡部的CSA在评估ACL大小方面更具代表性。然而，ACL长度与峡部或骨附着部位的CSA几乎没有相关性，因此在ACL重建中应独立评估。
