title: [Structure of infrapatellar synovial ligament in dogs].
abstract: The knee joint of the dog is frequently the subject of surgery if the cruciate ligaments or the menisci are injured. In the knee joint of the dog we find a ligament, which is spread out between the anterior part of the fossa intercondylaris ossis femoris and the corpus adiposus infrapatellaris. This ligamentum synoviale infrapatellare has not previously been described and represents a homologous structure to the plica synovialis infrapatellaris of human knee joint. Just like the latter and just like the cruciate ligaments it is a rudiment of a septum articulare genu, which is spread out between an articulatio femorotibialis and an articulatio femorofibularis in the early phylogenesis of tetrapods. The ligamentum synoviale infrapatellare of the dog consists of a stratum synoviale and a stratum spinosum, which includes blood vessels, nerves, many collagenous fibres and some elastic fibres. We do not find evidence for sensory nerve endings or corpuscular receptors. Therefore a servering of the ligament during knee joint surgery does not affect the proprioceptive potential of the knee joint.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Veterinär-Anatomie, -Histologie und -Embryologie, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Deutschland.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schnorr
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kressin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007596:Joints / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D017847:Patellar Ligament / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000648:ultrastructure