Ultrasonographic anatomy of the patellar ligaments in the adults horses

Abstract

In order to describe the ultrasonographic anatomy of patellar ligaments (medial, middle, lateral) and associated structures, 20 femorotibiopatellar joints of adult horses were investigated. Echogenicity, collagen fibers alignment, size, shape and surrounding structures were evaluated. All ligaments presented uniform echogenicity and collagen fibers parallelism. The longitudinal section of the medial and middle patellar ligaments presented a significant larger thickness (p<0,01) of the distal region when compared to the proximal region. When comparing the same site between the three ligaments, LPI was thicker (p<0,01) than lateral patellar ligament (LPL) and LPM. The LPL transversal section (cm²) presented a significant larger area (p<0,01), followed by the LPI and LPM. The transversal section of the medium region revealed a LPM with triangular shape, triangular or circular LPI, and flattened LPL. The surrounding structures observed during the evaluation were: femoral groove, articular cartilages, periligamentar fat tissue, patella and proximal tibia.