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The human anterior cruciate ligament: Sex differences in ultrastructure and correlation with biomechanical properties
Author(s) -
Hashemi Javad,
Chandrashekar Naveen,
Mansouri Hossein,
Slauterbeck James R.,
Hardy Daniel M.
Publication year - 2008
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.20621
Subject(s) - cadaveric spasm , anterior cruciate ligament , ultrastructure , collagen fibril , anatomy , fibril , ligament , medicine , chemistry , biochemistry
The purpose of this study was to investigate the existence of sex‐based differences in the ultrastructural characteristics of the human anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) as the underlying cause of differences in the structural and mechanical properties between sexes. The ACL of six male and six female cadaveric donors were randomly chosen from a pool of 10 male and 10 female ACLs that had previously been tested for their structural and mechanical properties. Eighteen tissue samples from the distal, proximal, and middle sections of the anteromedial and posterolateral bundles were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Female ACLs exhibited both lower fibril concentration and lower percent area occupied by collagen fibrils ( p < 0.05) compared to males. There was also a difference in the fibril diameters ( p < 0.05); donor age, height, body mass, and body mass index contributed significantly to this difference. In females, ACL stiffness and modulus of elasticity were highly correlated to fibril concentration ( r = 0.96 and 0.97, respectively); in males ACL failure load and strength were highly correlated to percent area occupied by collagen ( r = 0.96 and 0.96, respectively). These differences in ultrastructure may underlie differences in ACL properties between sexes. © 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 26:945–950, 2008