Abstract
Purpose
To reveal differences in the pattern of trabecular architecture in the epiphysis and metaphysis of the proximal tibia.
Methods
The trabecular architecture of the proximal tibia was observed in 27 P45 plastinated knee specimens.
Results
In the medial and lateral condyles, under the articular cartilage surrounded by the medial or lateral meniscus, the cancellous bone is formed by thick and dense trabecular bands, which run longitudinally in the epiphysis and then pass through the epiphyseal line to terminate on the slanted cortex of the metaphysis. In the intercondylar eminence, the trabeculae are arranged basically in a network. In the central portion of the tibial metaphysis, cancellous bone consists of fine arcuate trabeculae, which extend to the anterior and posterior cortices, respectively. These trabeculae are intersected sparsely and form trusses over the medullary cavity. Near the areas of attachment of the iliotibial tract, tibial collateral ligament, anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, and patellar ligament, the cancellous bone is locally reinforced with patchy trabeculae, dense radiating trabeculae, or two orthotropic trabecular bands.
Conclusion
This study provides further accurate anatomical information on the trabeculae of the proximal tibia. The soft structures of knee joint, including the articular cartilage, menisci, and ligaments, and the slanted cortices of the metaphysis are important landmarks for the location of different arrangements of the cancellous architecture. The present results are beneficial for clinical diagnosis and treatment of pathologies of the knee joint, or the establishment of a finite element analysis model of the knee joint.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr. Philip Adds from St George’s, University of London for his polishing the language.
Funding
This work was supported by the Key R & D projects in Liaoning Province (2020JH2/10500004).
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CY-Y: data analysis; JW-B: data analysis; LC: data analysis; ST-W: data analysis; SH-J: project development, editing; SS-Z: manuscript writing, editing; TW: data analysis; XF: data collection or management; XQ: data collection or management; YS-B: project development, editing; ZJ-X: data analysis.
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We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work and there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled.
Ethical approval and consent to participate
Twenty-seven adult knee joint specimens were from Dalian Medical University. All were donated to Dalian Medical University for anatomical teaching and research. The Ethics Committee of the Dalian Medical University approved this retrospective study (Dalian, China). All experiments were carried out according to the guiding principles and regulations of Dalian Medical University.
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Sun, SZ., Jiang, WB., Song, TW. et al. Architecture of the cancellous bone in human proximal tibia based on P45 sectional plastinated specimens. Surg Radiol Anat 43, 2055–2069 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-021-02826-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-021-02826-2