Anatomy Of The Knee Meniscus

The knees menisci are two half moon wedge shaped pieces of cartilage the lateral and medial meniscus acting as lubricant and elastic buffer distributing forces evenly between the femur upper leg and tibia lower leg in the knee joint. Damage to a meniscus the cartilage that cushions the knee often occurs with twisting the knee.

Knee Meniscus Anatomy

The meniscus is a rubber like c shaped disc that sits within the knee between the end of the thighbone femur and the top of the shinbone tibia.

Anatomy of the knee meniscus. Meniscus tears are among the most common knee injuries. The knee meniscus is a special layer of extra cartilage that lines the knee joint. The meniscus is a cushion structure made of cartilage which fits within the knee joint between the tibia and femur.

It can be torn if you suddenly twist your knee while bearing weight on it. When people talk about torn cartilage in the knee they are usually referring to a torn meniscus. The medial meniscus is on the inner part of the knee.

The medial meniscus is the central band of cartilage attached to the tibia or shinbone. A meniscus is a crescent shaped fibrocartilaginous anatomical structure that in contrast to an articular disc only partly divides a joint cavity. However anyone at any age can tear a meniscus.

In the healthy knee there are two menisci. Large tears may cause the. Athletes particularly those who play contact sports are at risk for meniscus tears.

The knee joint contains the meniscus structure comprised of both a medial and a lateral component situated between the corresponding femoral condyle and tibial plateau figure 1 each is a glossy white complex tissue comprised of cells specialized extracellular matrix ecm molecules and region specific innervation and vascularization. In humans they are present in the knee wrist acromioclavicular sternoclavicular and temporomandibular joints. The band goes around the knee joint in a crescent shaped path and is located between the medial condyles of.

2 in other animals they may be present in other joints. This provides a. There are two menisci inside the knee joint.

Medial meniscus and lateral meniscus. The job of the meniscus is to cushion the knee joint and transfer forces between the tibia and femur the thigh and shin bones. The meniscus is a c shaped piece of tough rubbery cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between your shinbone and thighbone.

Any form of arthritis or injury may cause a knee effusion. Integral to the knees functionality is the meniscus. Most of the joints in our body are lined with a thin layer of articular cartilage made of collagen and chondroitin.

Anatomy Of The Knee Joint Paley Orthopedic Spine Institute