title: Microanatomy of the medial collateral ligament enthesis in the bovine knee.
abstract: This study applied transmission and differential interference contrast light microscopy imaging methodologies to revisit the microanatomy of the ligament-bone junction of the medial collateral ligament, with the aim of providing new insights into the mechanostructural significance of the enthesis. The data show that the microscale structural features of the enthesis are more complex than the conventional description of "direct versus indirect," or "fibrous versus nonfibrous" insertions. From a materials perspective the enthesis may be viewed as a specialised functionally graded structural continuum whose unique microlevel structural adaptation contributes to maintaining both the local tissue micromechanical environment and joint function at the macrolevel.
authors.affiliation: Experimental Tissue Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Ashvin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thambyah
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Broom
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002417:Cattle; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D017888:Medial Collateral Ligament, Knee / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*
keywords: biomechanics; insertion; knee; ligament; soft-hard tissue