Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Where is an Anterior Cruciate Ligament is located?

Where is your Anterior Cruciate Ligament is actually located in your body?

  • Your Anterior cruciate ligament is located in the center of your knee.
  • The Ligament controls rotational movement as well as forward movement of the tibia or shin bone.
  • It has 2 bands: AMB and PLB
  • Anteromedial band(AMB) and Posterolateral band(PLB).
  • The anteromedial band becomes taught during flexion of your knee joint and it prevents anterior translation.
  • The posterolateral band becomes taught during the extension of your knee joint.
  • It attaches to the medial aspect of the lateral condyle.
  • and then it travels anteriorly to the tibia and attaches to the tibial intercondylar eminence.

An overview:

  • The word Cruciate means “cross”.
  • In the knee complex, the one ligament which crosses anteriorly to the knee joint is called an Anterior Cruciate Ligament.
  • Three-dimensional and fan-shaped ligament.
  • Multiple non-parallel interlacing collagen fascicles are present.
  • An Anterior Cruciate Ligament is made up of multiple collagen fascicles surrounded by an endotendineum.
  • It is grouped into many fibers.

Basic Anatomy of Anterior Cruciate Ligament:

  • Origin of An Anterior Cruciate Ligament :
  • It originates from the Lateral Femoral Condyle.
  • Insertion of Anterior Cruciate Ligament :
  • It is inserted into the tibial plateau.
  • But where it actually arises from the lateral femoral condyle?
  • So it basically originated from the Posteromedial aspect of the lateral femoral condyle and was inserted over the Medial tibial intercondylar tubercle.
  • An Anterior Cruciate Ligament is inserted on the tibial plateau, medial to the insertion of the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus in a depressed area anterolateral to the anterior tibial spine.
  • The tibial attachment site is larger and more secure than the femoral site.
  • The ligament is found 31 to 35 mm in length.
  • The direction of the fibers will be mostly inferior, medial, and anterior.

The axis of Attachment of An Anterior Cruciate Ligament :

  • Tibial attachment is in the anteroposterior axis of the tibia.
  • Femoral attachment is in the longitudinal axis of the femur.

Functions of An Anterior Cruciate Ligament:

  • The ligament is a strong band that connects one bone with another bone.
  • It helps to stabilize your knee joint.
  • It also helps in holding the knee in its original anatomical position.
  • The Anterior cruciate ligament controls the backward and forward motion of your knee.
  • It also helps to prevent the tibial sliding out movement in front of the femur.
  • The Anterior Cruciate Ligament provides rotational stability to your knee joint.

Nerve supply of An Anterior Cruciate Ligament :

  • The ACL ligament receives nerve fibers from the posterior branches of the tibial nerve.
  • These nerve fibers supply the posterior joint capsule.
  • The vessels surrounding the ligament supply the anterior to the infrapatellar fat pad.

Blood supply of An Anterior Cruciate Ligament:

  • The blood supply of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament is by the middle geniculate artery.
  • The distal part of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament is vascularized by branches of the lateral inferior geniculate artery and medial inferior geniculate artery.

Sensory Reflex from An Anterior Cruciate Ligament:

  • Sensory information from An Anterior Cruciate Ligament assists in providing dynamic stability to the knee joint.
  • But strain occurred because any kind of mechanism in an Anterior Cruciate Ligament will result in reflex contraction of the hamstring muscles.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury:

  • ACL injuries are common knee injuries found in athletes.
  • Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury most commonly occurs during sports that involve sudden stops or changes in directions.
  • This type of injury occurs mostly in those sports players, who involve activities like the pivoting motion of the lower extremity with a foot in pronation position.
  • So most commonly seen in football players, basketball players, and soccer players also.
  • The ligament injury has a mild to severe form.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *