1. Knee anatomy All images show anterior view

2. Important terms
Cruciate: descriptive terms meaning “to form a cross” or “shaped like a cross”
Collateral: descriptive term meaning “secondary” or “side branch” or even “small branch”
Meniscus: cartilage (more specifically fibrocartilage) that helps reduce friction between some joints. Very tough material

3. Four Major Ligaments of the Knee
Lateral collateral ligament
Medial collateral ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament
Posterior curciate ligament

5. 1 patella bone
2 femur bone
3 patellar ligament (cut)
4 lateral collateral ligament
5 Medial collateral ligament
6 medial meniscus
7 lateral meniscus
Not shown: patellar tendon found between the patella and muscle (quadriceps) that cover the anterior side of the femur.

7. 3 patellar ligament (cut) - attaches patella to the tuberosity of the tibia
4 lateral collateral ligament /connects lateral femoral condyle to the head of the fibula
5 Medial collateral ligament– connects medial femoral condyle to medial condyle of the tibia

10. 1 fibula bone
2 femur bone
3 tibia bone
4 lateral collateral ligament
5 medial collateral ligament
6 medial meniscus
7 lateral meniscus

12. 1 fibula bone
2 femur bone
3 tibia bone
4 posterior cruciate ligament
5 anterior cruciate ligament

13. Physiology Why so long to recover after a knee injury?
The key to injury recovery is tissue repair. A torn ACL, or torn meniscus (better known as torn cartilage), takes a long time to recover because ligaments and cartilage have a very low blood supply. Low blood supply means low metabolism (low amounts of oxygen, sugar, etc.) and therefore take a long time to repair. Instead of waiting for an ALC to repair itself, most people resort to surgery.

14. Torn ACL

15. Draw a knee joint!