Metric measurements and attachment levels of the medial patellofemoral ligament: an anatomical study in cadavers.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the metric measurements and to verify the attachment levels of the medial patellofemoral ligament in human cadavers.


METHODS
Seventeen knees (eight right and nine left knees) from 10 cadavers (nine male and one female) were dissected and stored in a 10% formaldehyde solution. All of the knees were whole and did not show any macroscopic signs of injuries.


RESULTS
The medial patellofemoral ligament was present in 88% of the knees studied, localized transversally between the medial femoral epicondyle and the medial margin of the patella. Its dimensions were quite variable, even between the knees of the same individual. The width of the patellar insertion ranged from 16 to 38.8 mm, with a mean of 27.90 mm, and its mean length was 55.67 mm. The margins of the ligament were concave or rectilinear. At the upper margin, the concave form predominated and was better characterized, while at the lower margin, the rectilinear form predominated.


CONCLUSIONS
The medial patellofemoral ligament is a very distinct structure with variable anatomical aspects and is always located in a plane inferior to the vastus medialis obliquus muscle.
Aragão
José Aderval
JA
Departamento de Morfologia, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Aracaju, SE, Brazil. jaafelipe@infonet.com
Reis
Francisco Prado
FP
de Vasconcelos
Diego Protásio
DP
Feitosa
Vera Lúcia Corrêa
VL
Nunes
Marco Antonio Prado
MA
D000328:Adult; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017888:Medial Collateral Ligament, Knee / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D017847:Patellar Ligament / Q000033:anatomy & histology*