Anatomy study note · Lower limb

Cruciate ligaments

Two strong ligaments inside the knee capsule (but outside the synovial cavity) that cross each other and bind the femur to the tibia throughout movement. They are named by their tibial attachments.

Key points

• Named by the tibial attachment.
• ACL: anterior tibia → lateral femoral condyle; stops anterior tibial slide.
• PCL: posterior tibia → medial femoral condyle; stops posterior tibial slide.
• Drawer signs; ACL tears commoner (women).
• Joint: from mesenchyme between bone ends.
• Synovial cavity forms in the middle layer.
• Ligament/tendon: dense regular CT — parallel collagen bundles.

The full note in the atlas also covers

Features · Histology · Development · Clinical notes

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 11, PDF pp. 1396–1407
• Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 10, PDF p. 144
• BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 6, PDF pp. 110–111

More from the lower limb

• Deep fibular nerve
• Deep veins of the leg and foot
• Dorsalis pedis artery
• Extensor digitorum brevis
• Extensor digitorum longus
• Extensor hallucis longus
• Femoral artery
• Femoral nerve
• Femoral vein
• Femur
• Fibula
• Fibularis brevis

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