Morphometry of the lateral and medial meniscus in the equine femorotibial joint

ABSTRACT Meniscal lesions are one of the main causes of pain and lameness in horses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphometry of the meniscus of the femorotibial joint of horses. 48 meniscus were used from 12 animals, aged between five and 15 years and weighing between 400kg and 500kg. The measurement of the peripheral extension went from the most cranial part to the most caudal, denominated external circumference (CE). The internal margin, with the same treatment, was called internal circumference (IC). The meniscus was divided into cranial, middle and caudal thirds. The thickness was obtained at the midpoints of each third. The area of the meniscus in contact with the femoral condyles was also calculated. The medial meniscus presented a higher CE with a mean of 126.38mm, while the lateral meniscus presented a mean of 115.32mm. The lateral meniscus showed greater thickness in the middle and caudal thirds, with mean values of 16.00mm and 19.85mm respectively, against 13.75mm and 14.99mm of the medial meniscus. The results of this study showed an important relationship between the morphometric data and the clinical findings in an attempt to explain the higher incidence of lesions involving the medial meniscus.

摘要：半月板（meniscus）损伤是导致马匹疼痛与跛行的主要病因之一。本研究旨在评估马股胫关节（femorotibial joint）半月板的形态测量参数。实验使用12匹年龄介于5至15岁、体重400kg至500kg的马匹的48个半月板样本。沿从最颅侧至最尾侧的方向测量半月板的外周延伸尺寸，记为外周周长（external circumference, CE）；内缘采用相同测量方法，记为内周周长（internal circumference, IC）。将半月板划分为颅侧、中间与尾侧三段，在每一段的中点处测量其厚度，并同时计算半月板与股骨髁接触的面积。结果显示，内侧半月板的外周周长均值为126.38mm，高于外侧半月板的115.32mm；外侧半月板在中间及尾侧三段的厚度更大，均值分别为16.00mm与19.85mm，而内侧半月板对应测量值仅为13.75mm与14.99mm。本研究结果表明，形态测量数据与临床发现存在重要关联，可为解释内侧半月板损伤更高发的现象提供依据。