This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Letters to the Editor: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Letters to the Editor are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Rights and Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Taniguchi, A.
Right arrow Articles by Yamamoto, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Taniguchi, A.
Right arrow Articles by Yamamoto, H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Facebook   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American) 85:2174-2178 (2003)
© 2003 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.

Anatomy of the Spring Ligament

Akira Taniguchi, MD1, Yasuhito Tanaka, MD1, Yoshinori Takakura, MD1, Kunihiko Kadono, MD1, Manabu Maeda1 and Hiroshi Yamamoto, MD1

1 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (A.T., Y.T., Y.T., and K.K.) and Second Department of Anatomy (M.M. and H.Y.), Nara Medical University, 840 Shijyocho, Kashihara, Nara 634-8522, Japan. E-mail address for A. Taniguchi: a-tani{at}naramed-u.ac.jp

Investigation performed at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Second Department of Anatomy, Nara Medical University, Nara, Japan

The authors did not receive grants or outside funding in support of their research or preparation of this manuscript. They did not receive payments or other benefits or a commitment or agreement to provide such benefits from a commercial entity. No commercial entity paid or directed, or agreed to pay or direct, any benefits to any research fund, foundation, educational institution, or other charitable or nonprofit organization with which the authors are affiliated or associated.

Background: The spring ligament has been reported to be composed of the inferior calcaneonavicular and superomedial calcaneonavicular ligaments. We investigated the lower layer of the spring ligament fibrocartilage complex under the fibrocartilaginous surface, identified three distinct structures, and examined the morphology and running patterns of their fiber bundles.

Methods: Forty-eight cadaveric feet were examined. After ablation of the ankle joint and extirpation of the talus, the surface cartilage of the spring ligament fibrocartilage complex was carefully removed with forceps, and the length, width, and thickness of the three components of the complex were measured with calipers.

Results: The three components of the spring ligament complex are the superomedial calcaneonavicular ligament, the inferior calcaneonavicular ligament, and a structure that we termed the third ligament, which comprises fibers running from the notch between the calcaneal facets to the navicular tuberosity.

Conclusions: We demonstrated a third component of the spring ligament; this component runs from the notch between the anterior and middle calcaneal facets to the tubercle of the navicular in the lower layer of the spring ligament complex, lying beneath the cartilaginous surface of the complex.

Clinical Relevance: More accurate knowledge of the anatomy of the spring ligament complex will enhance our understanding of its role in the support of the head of the talus and, potentially, its critical interactions with the posterior tibial tendon in this regard.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Roentgenol.Home page
L. Melao, C. Canella, M. Weber, P. Negrao, D. Trudell, and D. Resnick
Ligaments of the Transverse Tarsal Joint Complex: MRI-Anatomic Correlation in Cadavers
Am. J. Roentgenol., September 1, 2009; 193(3): 662 - 671.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Roentgenol.Home page
K. D. Perrich, D. W. Goodwin, P. J. Hecht, and Y. Cheung
Ankle Ligaments on MRI: Appearance of Normal and Injured Ligaments
Am. J. Roentgenol., September 1, 2009; 193(3): 687 - 695.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 RadiologyHome page
B. Mengiardi, M. Zanetti, P. B. Schottle, P. Vienne, B. Bode, J. Hodler, and C. W. A. Pfirrmann
Spring Ligament Complex: MR Imaging-Anatomic Correlation and Findings in Asymptomatic Subjects
Radiology, October 1, 2005; 237(1): 242 - 249.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]