title: Anatomical study of the lateral collateral ligament and its circumference structures in the human knee joint.
abstract: Thirty-six cadavers (55 sides) were used to observe the innervation of the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and its circumference structures with gross anatomical and histological methods to clarify the cause of indistinct pain in the lateral part of the knee joint. The innervating branches of the LCL could be divided into three types: (1) from the muscular branch of the biceps femoris muscle at lower 1/3 level of the thigh; (2) from the common fibular nerve (CFN) at the higher level of the fossa poplitea; (3) from the CFN at the level of the caput fibular. Furthermore, the three branches could singly or plurally distribute to the LCL (six types). Two of the connecting tissue membranes surrounding the surface of LCL formed an incomplete sheath structure, and a shutting "gap" was observed between the two membranes. Fine peripheral nervous branches were also observed in the two of the membranes. On the other hand, three types of nerve endings in the LCL (Type I/Ruffini mechanoreceptor; Type III/Golgi mechanoreceptor; Type IV/free nerve ending) were observed, and their presence was consistent with the ankle joint of humans. Therefore, the innervation of the two membranes (to form the shutting gap) in the surface of LCL may be associated with an indistinct pain when the knee joint is damaged.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, 19-1 Uchimaru, Morioka, 020-8505, Japan. junyan@iwate-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Wataru
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Jiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hitomi
mesh_terms: D018771:Arthralgia / Q000209:etiology; D017885:Collateral Ligaments / Q000294:innervation*; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000294:innervation*; D009411:Nerve Endings
references.citation: Am J Sports Med. 2000 Nov-Dec;28(6):869-78
references.pmid: 11101111
references.citation: Am J Sports Med. 1978 Mar-Apr;6(2):40-50
references.pmid: 25589
references.citation: J Anat. 1979 Dec;129(Pt 4):719-29
references.pmid: 536310
references.citation: Am J Sports Med. 2003 Jul-Aug;31(4):498-506
references.pmid: 12860535
references.citation: Surg Radiol Anat. 2008 Feb;30(1):5-9
references.pmid: 17989912
references.citation: J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1987 Feb;69(2):243-7
references.pmid: 3805085
references.citation: Am J Sports Med. 2006 Jan;34(1):24-8
references.pmid: 16170039
references.citation: J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1984 Sep;66(7):1072-6
references.pmid: 6207177
references.citation: J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1995 Mar;77(2):219-24
references.pmid: 7706334
references.citation: Okajimas Folia Anat Jpn. 2007 Feb;83(4):115-22
references.pmid: 17380853
references.citation: Kaibogaku Zasshi. 2005 Sep;80(3):67-72
references.pmid: 16196427
references.citation: Anat Rec. 1998 Dec;252(4):646-56
references.pmid: 9845215
references.citation: Anat Rec. 1952 May;113(1):53-70
references.pmid: 14924262
references.citation: Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2006 Mar;14(3):221-8
references.pmid: 16220313
references.citation: J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2007 Nov;89(11):1528-33
references.pmid: 17998196
references.citation: Am J Sports Med. 2001 Jul-Aug;29(4):466-72
references.pmid: 11476388
references.citation: J Anat. 1967 Jun;101(Pt 3):505-32
references.pmid: 6051731