A Study of Collagen Crimp Pattern in the Bovine Anterior and Posterior Medial Meniscal Horn Attachments

Menisci are fibrocartilagenous structures located between the femoral condyles and tibial plateau that aid in joint lubrication and stability in the knee joint. Previous experimental and theoretical studies have shown that the meniscal horn attachments, which serve as the transition from mensical fibrocartilage into subchondral bone, are important for proper meniscal function [1–3]. Meniscal attachments did not show significant differences in surface mechanical properties such as ultimate strain or moduli, however, there were significant differences in overall behavior of the anterior versus posterior attachments [4]. No significant differences in creep or stress relaxation properties were found between the different meniscal attachments [5].