The Morphological Anatomy of the Menisci of the Knee Joint in Human Fetuses

The menisci are two cartilaginous structures that deepen the proximal articular surface of the tibia (1-3). These fibrous cartilage structures reduce the stress on the tibia and contribute to the congruence of the knee joint during stance and gait (1-5). Meniscus injuries and meniscal tears are more prevalent among active children who participate in sports, and their frequency increases during adolescence The snapping knee syndrome is frequently observed in children and is related to meniscal area. Congenital anomalies of the menisci are rare. The most common developmental anomaly is discoid meniscus (4,7). A number of researchers have reported a relation between meniscal injuries and discoid meniscus (4,8,9). During the foetal period, discoid meniscus is more commonly observed in the lateral meniscus (LM) (9). Different theories have been proposed about the formation of discoid meniscus. Some researchers mentioned that discoid meniscus occurs due to failure of central resorption during the foetal period (4,9), and others noted that no discoid meniscus occurred in the foetal period (7,8). In adults, the morphology of the tibia differs from that of the femur; therefore, the morphologies of the lateral and medial Background: Development of the foetal period of the meniscus has been reported in different studies. Aims: Evaluation of lateral and medial meniscus development, typing and the relationship of the tibia during the foetal period. Study Design: Anatomical dissection. Methods: We evaluated 210 knee menisci obtained from 105 human foetuses ranging in age from 9 to 40 weeks' gestation. Foetuses were divided into four groups, and the intra-articular structure was exposed. We subsequently acquired images (Samsung WB 100 26X Optical Zoom Wide, Beijing, China) of the intra-articular structures with the aid of a millimetric ruler. The images were digitized for morphometric analyses and analysed by using Netcad 5.1 Software (Ak Mhendislik, Ankara, Turkey).