Clinical Article
Localization of tibial attachment of the posterior cruciate ligament and its gender differences: an MRI analysis
Guo Laiwei, Ding Ning, Teng Yuanjun, Sheng Xiaoyun, Xu Tianen, Meng Huiqiang, Wu Meng, Xia Yayi
Published 2017-05-15
Cite as Chin J Orthop Trauma, 2017,19(05): 387-392. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.1671-7600.2017.05.004
Abstract
ObjectiveTo localize the tibial attachment of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and provide parameters for clinical PCL reconstruction.
MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 524 patients with intact tibial PCL attachment who had undergone knee MRI from January 2010 to January 2016. They were 286 men and 238 women with an average age of 35 years (from 20 to 50 years). The size and positions of the tibial PCL attachment were measured on the sagittal and coronal MRI slices. The differences were analyzed between different genders.
ResultsOn the sagittal slices, the mean distance from the central tibial PCL attachment to the posterior edge of the tibial plateau was 17.9±3.0 mm and the mean anteroposterior diameter of the tibial PCL attachment was 9.7±2.4 mm, with those for males significantly larger than for females (P< 0.05). The above mean values when expressed as a percentage of the posterior tibial slop were 79.9%±4.5% and 43.7%±9.6%, respectively, showing no sig-nificant differences between males and females (P >0.05). On the coronal slices, the distances from the central tibial PCL attachment to the medial and lateral edges of the tibial plateau were 33.5±3.1 mm and 37.4±4.1 mm, respectively, and the mediolateral diameter of the tibial PCL attachment was 12.0±1.6 mm, with those for males significantly larger than for females (P< 0.05). The above mean values when expressed as a percentage of the mediolateral diameter of the tibial PCL attachment were 47.4%±3.2%, 52.7%±3.1% and 16.9%±1.7%, respectively, showing no significant differences between males and females (P >0.05).
ConclusionsOn knee MRI images, the distance from the central tibial PCL at-tachment to the posterior edge of the tibial plateau is about 17.9 mm, the anteroposterior diameter of the tibial PCL attachment around 9.7 mm, and the mediolateral diameter of the tibial PCL attachment roughly 12.0 mm. These measurements for males are larger than for females.
Key words:
Posterior cruciate ligament; Magnetic resonance imaging; Tibial attachment; Tibial tunnel
Contributor Information
Guo Laiwei
Gansu Province Key Laboratory of Orthopaedics, Department of Orthopaedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital to Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730030, China
Ding Ning
Teng Yuanjun
Sheng Xiaoyun
Xu Tianen
Meng Huiqiang
Wu Meng
Xia Yayi
