MORPHOLOGICAL AND MORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF ANTERIOR TALOFIBULAR LIGAMENT OF ANKLE JOINT

Anju Pratap*, Anukriti Singh, Kavita Negi and Vanita Sharma

ABSTRACT

The ankle joint (talocrural) is a hinge joint. The ligaments of the ankle joint are medial and lateral collateral ligaments. These two ligamentous complexes are the main stabilizers of the ankle joint, appreciated both in MRI and cadaveric dissections. The lateral collateral ligament consists of three discrete parts, Anterior Talofibular (ATFL), Calcaneofibular (CFL) and Posterior Talofibular ligaments (PTFL). Ankle sprains are most common in athletes and also occur in other sports like basketball, soccer, football, and volleyball. Lateral ankle sprains account for about 85% of all ankle sprains. The anterior talofibular ligament is the most frequently injured. Morphology and morphometry of ligaments of the ankle have not been well documented in the literature. Hence this study was taken up. The study was done by dissection on 40 (20 right and 20 left) cadaveric ankles, each ankle was carefully dissected to study the morphology and morphometry of the lateral collateral ligament. In the present study, we found, single-banded type I-14 (35%), double-banded, type II-a 9 (22.5%) and type II-b 17 (42.5%) ATFL, However, we didn’t find any type III ATFL. The average length and width of ATFL irrespective of the side, and the mean length and width of single-banded ATFL were 18.24 ±4.74 mm and 5.87±0.73 mm respectively (Table 4). The Mean length and width of the superior and inferior bands of double-banded ATFL were 17.62 ±2.29mm 5.87 ±3.25mm and 13.66 ±2.70mm 4.02±0.97mm (Table 4). The data represented in this study may be important when considering surgical repair or reconstruction of traumatized or attenuated collateral ligaments.

Keywords: Ankle joint, Anterior Talofibular Ligament, Ankle Sprains, Morphometry.