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| Ligament: Medial collateral ligament | ||
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| Diagram of the right knee. (Medial collateral ligament labeled at center right.) | ||
| Latin | ligamentum collaterale tibiale | |
| Gray's | subject #93 341 | |
| From | medial condyle of femur | |
| To | medial condyle of tibia | |
| MeSH | A02.513.514.162.600 | |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | l_09/12491979 | |
The medial collateral ligament of the knee is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. It is also known as the tibial collateral ligament, or abbreviated as the MCL.
It is a broad, flat, membranous band, situated slightly posterior on the medial side of the knee joint. It is attached proximally to the medial condyle of femur immediately below the adductor tubercle; below to the medial condyle of the tibia and medial surface of its body. It resists forces that would push the knee medially, which would otherwise produce valgus deformity.
The fibers of the posterior part of the ligament are short and incline backward as they descend; they are inserted into the tibia above the groove for the semimembranosus muscle.
The anterior part of the ligament is a flattened band, about 10 centimetres long, which inclines forward as it descends.
It is inserted into the medial surface of the body of the tibia about 2.5 centimetres below the level of the condyle.
Crossing on top of the lower part of the MCL is the pes anserinus, the joined tendons of the sartorius, gracilis, and semitendinosus muscles; a bursa is interposed between the two.
The MCL's deep surface covers the inferior medial genicular vessels and nerve and the anterior portion of the tendon of the semimembranosus muscle, with which it is connected by a few fibers; it is intimately adherent to the medial meniscus.
Embryologically and phylogenically, the ligament represents the distal portion of the tendon of adductor magnus muscle. In lower animals, adductor magnus inserts into the tibia. Because of this, the ligament occasionally contains muscle fibres. This is an atavistic variation.
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Causes of Injury
An MCL injury can be very painful and is often caused when the knee bends the wrong way when landing, or on high impact. It can take between 2 and 10 weeks for the injury to fully heal. It is difficult to apply pressure on the injured leg for at least a few days.
Skiing
The most common knee structure damaged in skiing is the medial collateral ligament, although the carve turn has diminished the incidence somewhat.[1]
American Football
MCL strains and tears are fairly common in American football. Mostly the center and the guards are ones who get this injury, due to the grip trend on their cleats. The number of football players who get this injury has increased in recent years. Companies are currently trying to develop better cleats that will prevent injury.
Additional images
 Right knee-joint. Anterior view. |
 Right knee-joint. Posterior view. |
 Left knee-joint from behind, showing interior ligaments. |
 Capsule of right knee-joint (distended). Posterior aspect. |
External links
- The KNEEguru - educational site packed with knee content with sections on medial collateral ligament injuries
- SUNY Figs 17:06-04
- Medial+collateral+ligament at eMedicine Dictionary
- Norman/Georgetown lljoints (antkneejointopenflexed)
References
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 16 September 2008, at 01:22.
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