title: MRI features of the anterolateral ligament of the knee.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Evaluate the visibility and describe the anatomical features of the anterolateral ligament of the knee using MRI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Magnetic resonance imaging examinations of the knee were independently reviewed by two musculoskeletal radiologists and assessed for the visibility of the anterolateral ligament under direct cross-referencing of axial and coronal images as complete, partial, or non-visible. Distal insertion site (tibial, meniscal), distance to lateral tibial plateau, measurements (length, width, thickness), and associated imaging findings were also tabulated. Clinical and surgical records were also reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy MRI scans from 60 consecutive subjects were included in the study. Mean age was 40 years, body mass 74.9 kg, and height 1.72 m. The subject population was 53% male, most of the knees were from the left side (51%), and chronic pain was the main clinical symptom (40%). Nine knees (13 %) had undergone previous surgery. The anterolateral ligament was identified in 51% of the knees: completely visible in 11% and partially visible in 40%. In all visible cases, the distal insertion site was identified on the tibia, with a mean distance of 5.7 mm to the plateau. A completely visible ligament had a mean length of 33.2 mm, width of 5.6 mm, and thickness of 1.9 mm [corrected]. Inter-observer agreement for ligament presence was significant (κ = 0.7). Statistical analyses showed a trend to be more visible in men, with a longer length compared with women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Magnetic resonance imaging clearly identifies the anterolateral ligament of the knee in slightly more than half of cases, being partially visible in most of them. In all cases, a tibial insertion is characterized.
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal Radiology Division, Imaging Department, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Av. Albert Einstein, 627, Morumbi, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, taneja@einstein.br.
authors.forename: Atul K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Taneja
authors.forename: Frederico C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: Cesar A P
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Braga
authors.forename: Corey M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: Luiz G C
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Durval C B
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Laercio A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rosemberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D059925:Anatomic Landmarks / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002648:Child; D017885:Collateral Ligaments / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013977:Tibia / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D055815:Young Adult