RT Journal Article
T1 Development of the human knee joint ligaments
A1 Mérida Velasco, Juan A.
A1 Sánchez Montesinos, Indalecio
A1 Espín Ferra, Joaquín
A1 Mérida Velasco, José Ramón
A1 Rodríguez Vázquez, José Francisco
A1 Jiménez Collado, Juan
AB Methods: We summarize our observations on the development of the knee joint ligaments in 50 serially sectioned human embryonic and fetal lower limbs (26 embryos and 24 fetuses).Results: The patellar ligament begins to form in O'Rahilly stage 20, with the muscle fibers of the quadriceps muscle being attached inferiorly to the tibial tuberosity. The cruciate ligaments (beginning with the posterior) arise from the articular interzone in O'Rahilly stage 21. Subsequently, with the organization of the Wrisberg's meniscofemoral ligament, in week 10 of development, the cruciate ligament system is completed. The lateral collateral ligament begins to form in O'Rahilly stage 23, and from its first appearance it is independent of the knee joint capsule. At this time, development of the tendon of the popliteus muscle begins. The medial collateral ligament begins to develop in week 9 of development as a condensation of the joint capsule. Two weeks later, the intra-articular pad of fat begins to form from mesenchymal tissue below the patella and between the cruciate and the patellar ligaments. With the organization of the suprapatellar bursa in week 14 of development, knee joint development is complete.Conclusions: The morphogenetic time table of the knee joint ligaments was established.
PB Wiley
SN 0003-276X
SN 1097-0185
YR 1999
FD 1999-01-06
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/122507
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/122507
LA eng
NO Mérida-Velasco, J. A., Sánchez-Montesinos, I., Espín-Ferra, J., Mérida-Velasco, J. R., Rodríguez-Vázquez, J. F., & Jiménez-Collado, J. (1997). Development of the human knee joint ligaments. The Anatomical record, 248(2), 259–268. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0185(199706)248:2<259::AID-AR13>3.0.CO;2-O
DS Docta Complutense
RD 25 feb 2026