Anatomic and Biomechanical Study of the Lateral Collateral and Popliteofibular

The position of the fibula around the proximal tibia varies in different people; it was therefore hypothe-sized that this variation would affect the orientation of the lateral collateral ligament and the popliteofibular ligament complex. This hypothesis was studied in 10 cadaveric knees by measuring the orientation and length changes in these structures as the knee was flexed. The data were correlated with tibiofibular joint position. The strength of the ligaments was also tested. There were significant correlations between fibular head position and ligament orientation with the knee extended. The lateral collateral ligament slackened significantly with knee flexion, whereas the popliteo-fibular ligament complex did not. The structures be