Microstructure Variations in the Soft-Hard Tissue Junction of the Human Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Abstract

The role of the sub-bundles in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has been defined, such that the anterior-medial bundle directly resists anterior tibial translation while the posterior lateral bundle is involved in rotational stability. With regards to this biomechanical function, much of the previous work on bundle-specific morphology has been carried out on the macroscale, with much less attention given to the micro-to-ultrastructural scalar levels. This is especially true of the enthesis and its microstructure, a biomechanically significant region that has been largely neglected in the published literature dealing with ACL sub-bundle anatomy. In this study, the human ACL tibial enthesi..