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Morphological features of the posterior oblique ligament of the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow joint

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this basic research study was to clarify the morphological characteristics of the posterior oblique fibers (POL) of the ulnar collateral ligament using a large number of specimens.

Methods

This study examined 50 arms from 25 Japanese cadavers. Type classification was performed by focusing on the positional relationship between POL morphology and the joint capsule. The morphological features measured were fiber bundle length, width, and thickness.

Results

The POL was classified as follows: Type I, the POL’s anterior and posterior edges are located on the surface of the joint capsule and can be separated as a single fiber bundle; Type II-a, the POL anterior edge can be separated, but the posterior edge cannot be separated; Type II-b, the POL posterior edge can be separated, but the anterior edge cannot be separated; and Type III, the POL cannot be separated from the joint capsule. Type I was seen in 23 elbows (46%), Type II-a in 6 elbows (12%), Type II-b in 7 elbows (14%), and Type III in 14 elbows (28%).

Conclusion

The results of this study suggested that the POL could be classified into an independent type and an unclear type, and the presence of the unclear type was one of the factors that caused morphological variation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge and thank those anonymous individuals who generously donated their bodies so that this study could be performed. This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grant Number JP19K11358 and a Grant-in-Aid from Niigata University of Health and Welfare.

Funding

This study was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP19K11358 and a Grant-in-Aid program from Niigata University of Health and Welfare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Shimami-cho 1398, Kita-ku, Niigata City, 950-3198, Japan

    S. Shimizu, M. Edama, M. Ikezu, K. Matsuzawa & F. Kaneko

  2. Department of Anatomy, School of Life Dentistry at Niigata, Nippon Dental University, Niigata, Japan

    M. Edama & I. Kageyama

Authors
  1. S. Shimizu
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  2. M. Edama
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  3. M. Ikezu
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  4. K. Matsuzawa
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  5. F. Kaneko
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  6. I. Kageyama
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Contributions

ME and TT contributed to study design and data collection, and drafted the manuscript; TI contributed to data analysis and made critical revisions to the manuscript; RH, MI, FK, and KM made critical revisions to the manuscript; IK supervised the study, contributed to analysis and interpretation of data, and made critical revisions to the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript prior to submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Edama.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The methods were carried out in accordance with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki, and the cadavers were legally donated for the study by the Nippon Dental University of Life Dentistry at Niigata in Japan.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from the families of the cadaver donors.

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Shimizu, S., Edama, M., Ikezu, M. et al. Morphological features of the posterior oblique ligament of the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow joint. Surg Radiol Anat 42, 243–248 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02423-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02423-9

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