Joints and ligaments · Lower limb
Meniscopatellar ligament !
The meniscopatellar ligaments are thin bands at the front of the knee running from the sides of the kneecap down to the menisci.
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What it is
A thin band from the kneecap to the menisci.
What it does
Links the kneecap to the menisci as the knee moves.
Key facts
- Attaches
- Medial and lateral borders of patella to anterior horns of the menisci; thickening of retinaculum and capsule
- Function
- Draws menisci forward with the patella during knee extension
- Tight in
- Knee extension
Relations
- Superficial
- Medial retinaculum and lateral retinaculum of the patella
- Deep
- Infrapatellar fat pad and synovium
- Below
- Anterior horns of the menisci and, close by, the patellotibial fibres going to the tibia
How to find it
Not felt as a separate band: it lies in the lower part of the patellar retinaculum on each side of the patella, below the level of the MPFL, running down and back toward the joint line.
Examination
- Patellar apprehension test: pushing the patella laterally with the knee slightly bent causes guarding or fear when the medial restraints (MPFL and medial patellomeniscal ligament) are torn or lax
On imaging
MRI shows it as a thin low-signal band from the lower patellar border to the anterior horn of the meniscus; after a lateral patellar dislocation, axial images may show it torn along with the MPFL.
Clinical notes
- The medial patellomeniscal ligament can tear together with the MPFL in a lateral patellar dislocation
- Some patellar stabilization techniques reconstruct the medial patellotibial or patellomeniscal fibres as well as the MPFL
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
What does the meniscopatellar ligament connect?
The medial and lateral borders of the patella to the anterior horns of the menisci; it is a thickening of the retinaculum and capsule.
How does the meniscopatellar ligament protect the menisci during knee extension?
It pulls the anterior horns forward with the patella, so the menisci are not pinched between femur and tibia.
What role does the medial patellomeniscal ligament play in patellar stability?
It is a secondary restraint to lateral patellar displacement after the MPFL, and can tear with it in a lateral dislocation.
Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.
Its names
- Official Latin (TA2)
- ligamentum meniscopatellare TA2 1904
- Official Spanish (DeCS)
- Ligamento meniscorrotuliano
- English (TA2)
- Meniscopatellar ligament
Related
Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Medial Meniscus; Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Knee Lateral Meniscus; 9.6 Anatomy of Selected Synovial Joints (OpenStax (Rice University), 2022) · adapted, CC BY 4.0.
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.
