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Vascular assessment of the periarticular ligaments of the rabbit knee
Author(s) -
Wallace C. Douglas,
Amiel David
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of orthopaedic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1554-527X
pISSN - 0736-0266
DOI - 10.1002/jor.1100090603
Subject(s) - anatomy , medicine , medial collateral ligament , anterior cruciate ligament , ligament , artery , surgery
While the rabbit is being extensively utilized in animal models for orthopaedic research, the vascular anatomy of the knee ligaments has not been thoroughly described in this species. This study demonstrates the blood supply to the infrapatellar fat pad, the cruciate ligaments, the medial collateral ligament (MCL), and the menisci, such that the effects of manipulating these tissue may be properly interpreted. Vascular injection with India ink and iodinated i.v. contrast dye was performed in 11 New Zealand white rabbits, and routine histology done on six. The large vessel anatomy is similar to that described for humans and dogs, with a descending geniculate artery, medial and lateral superior and inferior geniculate arteries, a posterior geniculate artery, and a recurrent anterior tibial artery. The microvascular anatomy is also similar in that the infrapatellar fat pad and synovial membrane are highly vascular, the menisci are vascularized from their periphery (being avascular centrally), and the medial collateral ligament is relatively well vascularized. A difference from dogs and humans is present in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which is poorly vascularized, with a single artery on its anterior aspect. High magnification histologic evaluation reveals numerous capillaries in the substance of the MCL, while the ACL is nearly devoid of such vessels. The interspecies variation in vascular anatomy is a variable that must be taken into consideration in any surgical or traumatic animal model investigation of knee pathology.