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Information about Meniscus (anatomy)

This article is about the parts in the human knee.
For other uses of the term meniscus, see meniscus and lens (optics).


In anatomy, a meniscus is either of two specific parts of cartilage of the knee. The knee contains a lateral meniscus and a medial meniscus. Both are cartilaginous tissues that provide structural integrity to the knee when it undergoes tension and torsion. The menisci are also known as 'semi-lunar' cartilages - referring to their half-moon "C" shape - a term which has been largely dropped by the medical profession, but which led to the menisci being called knee 'cartilages' by the lay public.

Anatomy

The menisci are two pads of cartilaginous tissue which serve to disperse friction in the knee joint between the lower leg (tibia) and the thigh (femur). They are shaped concave on the top and flat on the bottom, articulating the tibia. They are attached to the small depressions (fossae) between the condyles of the tibia (intercondyloid fossa), and towards the center they are unattached and their shape narrows to a thin shelf.[1]

Function

The menisci act to disperse the weight of the body and reduce friction during movement. Since the condyles of the femur and tibia meet at one point (which changes during flexion and extension), the menisci spread the load of the body's weight.[2] This differs from sesamoid bones, which are made of osseous tissue and whose function primarily is to protect the nearby tendon and to increase its mechanical effect.

Injury and surgical options

Tears

In osteoarthritis, the meniscus is either torn or worn away from overuse, age, or injury. The joint will be in pain when in use, but when there is no load, the pain goes away. A torn meniscus can be repaired through some surgery and the body's ability to heal itself. In addition, there are techniques under research which involve sutures and biological glues to enable healing. If the tear is far away from the meniscus' blood supply (the meniscus becomes avascular towards the unattached, thin interior edge), then repair is unlikely. In these cases arthroscopic surgery allows for a meniscectomy, removing the torn tissue and allowing the patient to continue on in life with some of the meniscus missing. Usually younger patients are more resilient and react well to this treatment, while older, more sedentary patients do not have such rejuvenating ability. In situations where the meniscus is torn beyond repair or partial removal, a total menisectomy and meniscus replacement may be the only option before a total knee replacement.

In sports and orthopedics, people will sometimes speak of "meniscus surgery" and a "torn meniscus" and be referring to an injury to one of the menisci. Tears in the meniscus may be assessed and measured via a minimally invasive test called meniscometry.

Meniscus Treatment

When a person rips their meniscus they should consult a doctor, and after having the proper medical examinations an orthopedist will decide if the patient should have surgery or not. In the case that the doctor decides that surgery is not necessary the patient will probably have to have a small break from her normal activities so that the knee can heal, do some strengthening exercises for the knee muscle (stronger and bigger muscles will protect the meniscus cartilage by absorbing a part of the weight) and may be given some anti-inflammatory medications.

Rehab after Meniscus Surgery

After a successful surgery for treating the destroyed part of the meniscus patients must follow a rehabilitation program to have the best result. The rehabilitation following a meniscus surgery depends on whether the entire meniscus was removed or repaired.

If the destroyed part of the meniscus was removed, patients can usually start walking a day or two after surgery and return normal activities after a few weeks (2 or 3). However, each case is different and patients must consult the surgeon.

If the meniscus was repaired the rehabilitation program that follows is a lot more intensive. After the surgery a hinged knee brace is placed on the patient. This brace allows controlled movement of the knee. The patient is encouraged to walk using crutches from the first day, and most of the times can put weight on the knee. After four weeks the patient can start walking using the hinged knee brace only. Starting from the second month the patient can walk freely and can also do various "light" exercises (static bicycle, swimming, etc.). If the rehabilitation was done properly the patient can gradually return back to "heavier" activities (like running). However each case is different and the patient must consult the doctor and physiotherapist regarding a proper rehabilitation program.

References

See also

External links

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Joints and ligaments of lower limbs
Coxal/hipiliofemoral - pubofemoral - ischiofemoral - head of femur - transverse acetabular
Knee-jointpatellar - popliteal (oblique, arcuate) - collateral (medial/tibial, lateral/fibular) - cruciate (anterior, posterior) - menisci (medial, lateral)
TibiofibularSuperior tibiofibular: anterior of the head of the fibula - posterior of the head of the fibula
Inferior tibiofibular: anterior of the lateral malleolus - posterior of the lateral malleolus
Talocrural/ankledeltoid - external lateral of the ankle-joint (anterior talofibular, posterior talofibular, calcaneofibular)
Foot - intertarsalSubtalar/talocalcaneal: anterior talocalcaneal - posterior talocalcaneal - lateral talocalcaneal - medial talocalcaneal - interosseous talocalcaneal
Talocalcaneonavicular: dorsal talonavicular
Calcaneocuboid: dorsal calcaneocuboid - bifurcated - long plantar - plantar calcaneocuboid
Transverse tarsal: plantar calcaneonavicular/spring
Foot - otherCuneonavicular, Cuboideonavicular, Intercuneiform and cuneocuboid, Tarsometatarsal/Lisfranc, Intermetatarsal, Metatarsophalangeal, Interphalangeal
Arches of the foot (Longitudinal, Transverse)
A: The bottom of a concave meniscus.
B: The top of a convex meniscus.]] Meniscus, plural: menisci, from the Greek for "crescent", is a curve in the surface of a liquid and is produced in response to the surface of the container or another
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Anatomy (from the Greek ἀνατομία anatomia, from ἀνατέμνειν
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Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. It is composed of collagen fibers and/or elastin fibers, and can supply smooth surfaces for the movement of articulating bones.
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In human anatomy, the knee is the lower extremity joint connecting the femur and the tibia. Since in humans the knee supports nearly the entire weight of the body, it is the joint most vulnerable both to acute injury and to the development of osteoarthritis.
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The lateral meniscus (external semilunar fibrocartilage) is nearly circular and covers a larger portion of the articular surface than the medial meniscus.

It is grooved laterally for the tendon of the Popliteus, which separates it from the fibular collateral ligament.
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The medial meniscus (internal semilunar fibrocartilage) is nearly semicircular in form, a little elongated from before backward, and broader behind than in front;

Attachments

Its anterior end
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Tension is a reaction force applied by a stretched string (rope or a similar object) on the objects which stretch it. The direction of the force of tension is parallel to the string, towards the string.
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In solid mechanics, torsion is the twisting of an object due to an applied torque. In circular sections, the resultant shearing stress is perpendicular to the radius.

The shear stress at a point on a shaft is:

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In human anatomy, the knee is the lower extremity joint connecting the femur and the tibia. Since in humans the knee supports nearly the entire weight of the body, it is the joint most vulnerable both to acute injury and to the development of osteoarthritis.
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tibia is the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates.

In humans

The tibia or shin bone, in human anatomy, is found medial (towards the middle) and anterior (towards the front) to the other such bone, the fibula.
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The femur or thigh bone is the longest, most voluminous, and strongest bone of mammalian bodies. It forms part of the hip and part of the knee.

The word femur is Latin for thigh.
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The word concave means curving in or hollowed inward. The term is most commonly used to refer to:
  • Concave lens, a lens with inward-curving (concave) surfaces.
  • Concave polygon, a polygon which is not convex.

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Fossa is the Latin word for ditch or trench. More specifically, it can refer to one of the following:

Anatomy

In anatomical terminology, fossa has come to mean a depression or hollow, typically in a bone.
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flexion is a position that is made possible by the joint angle decreasing. The skeletal (bones, cartilage, and ligaments) and muscular (muscles and tendons) systems work together to move the joint into a "flexed" position.
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In anatomy, a sesamoid bone is a bone embedded within a tendon.

Sesamoid bones are typically found in locations where a tendon passes over a joint, such as the hand, knee, and foot. Functionally, they act to protect the tendon and to increase its mechanical effect.
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Osseous tissue, or bone tissue is the major structural and supportive connective tissue of the body. Osseous tissue forms the rigid part of the bone organs that make up the skeletal system.

Formation

The bone tissue is a mineralized connective tissue.
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Osteoarthritis
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 M 15. -M 19. , M 47.
ICD-9 715

OMIM 165720
DiseasesDB 9313
MedlinePlus 000423
eMedicine med/1682   orthoped/427 pmr/93 radio/492
MeSH D010003


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Sutures are the stitches that doctors, and especially surgeons, use to hold skin, internal organs, blood vessels and all other tissues of the human body together, after they have been severed by injury or surgery.
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Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage of the interior of a joint is performed using an arthroscope
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For anthropology, see sedentism.


Sedentary lifestyle is a type of lifestyle most commonly found in modern (particularly Western) cultures. It is characterized by sitting or remaining inactive for most of the day (for example, in an office.
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Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
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Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (also spelled orthopaedics, see below) is the branch of surgery concerned with acute, chronic, traumatic, and overuse injuries and other disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
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Physical therapy (or physiotherapy[1]) is the provision of services to people and populations to develop, maintain and restore maximum movement and functional ability throughout the lifespan.
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The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of hyaline cartilage located at the peripheral aspect of the knee joint that offers lubrication and nutrition to the joint. Each knee has two menisci, medial and lateral, whose purpose is to provide space between the tibia and the femur, preventing
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unhappy triad (or terrible triad, or O'Donoghue's triad[1]) is an injury to the knee. It commonly occurs in contact sports (such as American football).
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Released October 31, 2007
Genre J-Pop
Length N/A
Label Geneon
Producer(s) I've Sound

Mami Kawada singles chronology

Get my way!
(2007) JOINT
(2007)

JOINT
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In anatomy, the term ligament is used to denote three different types of structures:[1]
  1. Fibrous tissue that connects bones to other bones. They are sometimes called "articular ligaments"[2], "fibrous ligaments", or "true ligaments".

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In common usage, a human leg is the lower limb of the body, extending from the hip to the ankle, and including the thigh, the knee, and the cnemis.[1] The largest bone in the human body, the femur, is in the leg.
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hip is the bony projection of the femur which is known as the greater trochanter, and the overlying muscle and fat. The hip joint is the joint between the femur and acetabulum of the pelvis and its primary function is to support the weight of the body in both static
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The iliofemoral ligament (Y-ligament; ligament of Bigelow) is a band of great strength which lies in front of the hip joint; it is intimately connected with the joint capsule, and serves to strengthen the joint by resisting hyperextension.
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