74 



ELEMENTS OF MAMMALIAN ANATOMY. 



As the knee-joint can be readily dissected and the parts 

 well displayed, it is here described somewhat in detail. The 

 leg should be detached at the hip- joint and the muscles 

 largely removed, taking care in the immediate neighbor- 

 hood of the knee that the ligaments are not cut. There are 



eight ligaments to this joint. 

 The anterior ligament or 

 ligament of the patella 

 (Fig. 45), extending from 

 the patella to the anterior 

 tubercle on the tibia, is the 

 strongest ligament of the 

 knee-joint, and is really a 

 continuation of the tendon 

 of the quadriceps extensor 

 muscle. The capsular liga- 

 ment, which entirely sur- 

 rounds the joint except in 

 the places occupied by the 

 anterior and lateral liga- 

 ments, consists of two parts, 

 a cranial and a caudal por- 



FIG. 45. LATERAL ASPECT OF DIS- 

 SECTED KNEE-JOINT. 



ad, Adipose tissue; ax, antero-in- 

 ternal ligament of the meniscus ; 

 cp, capsular ligament cut and re- 

 flected mediad; bi, tendon of 

 the popliteus muscle pulled 

 proximad to display sc; en, 

 caudal projection of condyle of 

 tibia; ex, antero-external liga- 

 ment of the meniscus; ex, ex- 

 ternal lateral ligament; fb, 

 fibula; fm, femur; lg, ligament 

 of the quadriceps extensor 

 muscle ; pt, patella ; sc, external 

 or lateral meniscus ; scm, medial 

 or internal meniscus ; tf, tibio- 

 fibular ligament ; tb, tibia. 



tion. The former is seen 

 on either side of the anterior 

 ligament, extending from 

 the femur to the tibia as a 

 thick membrane, and more 

 laterally being attached to 

 the menisci. The caudal part 



extends from the fabellse 

 and the femur to the tibia and menisci. 



The external lateral ligament proceeds from the external 

 tuberosity of the femur to the head of the fibula. The 

 internal lateral ligament, much shorter than the external 



