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The Anterior Intermeniscal Ligament of the Knee

An Anatomic Study

Eric W. Nelson, MD and Robert F. LaPrade, MD

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Presented at the 25th annual meeting of the AOSSM, Traverse City, Michigan, June 1999.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Robert F. LaPrade, MD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Box 492 UMHC, 420 Delaware Street, SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

The purpose of this study was to identify the presence of the anterior intermeniscal ligament of the knee and to study its attachment patterns and relationships to other anatomic structures within the knee. Fifty unpaired cadaveric knees were dissected. An identifiably distinct anterior intermeniscal ligament was found in 47 specimens (94%). The average length was 33 mm and the average midsubstance width was 3.3 mm. The average perpendicular distance from the anterior intermeniscal ligament to the anterior margin of the tibial insertion of the anterior cruciate ligament was 7.8 mm (range, 2.0 to 13.5). The anterior intermeniscal ligament was the primary attachment for the anterior horn of the medial meniscus in 12 knees (24%); 7 knees (14%) had no tibial insertion and 5 knees (10%) had only a fine fascial tibial connection. Successful arthroscopic evaluation, surgical repair, and meniscal allograft reconstruction can be enhanced by a precise knowledge of the anterior intermeniscal ligament anatomy, especially when identifying the various insertion patterns of the anterior horn of the medial meniscus. A correct understanding of these patterns is helpful for avoiding patient injury during surgical procedures (particularly arthroscopic ACL reconstructions) performed in close proximity to the anterior intermeniscal ligament of the knee.

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