The variant anatomy of the menisci of the knee joint in human fetuses

Abstract

Background: Development of the prenatal period of the meniscus has been reported in different studies. But there are very few studies to determine the variant anatomy of the lateral and medial menisci in the foetal period. Aim: Determine the variant anatomy of lateral and medial meniscus during the foetal period. The surface of the medial humerus, the surface of the human knee joint, does not align with the upper surface of the wedge, so it contains two additional components called the crescent gasket. Materials and methods: In this study, we used human fetuses stored in the laboratory of the Department of Anatomy, School of Bio-medicine, MNUMS. A total of 31 fetuses were included in the study, of which 13 (41.95) female and 18 (58.05%) male fetuses covered 62 joints of the right and left knee. Results: Our study identified six morphological features of the outer lining. However, the shape of the inner lunar gasket differs from right to left. Conclusions: 1. The outer shape of the knee joint of the Mongolian fetus is dominated by the C-shape of the crescent, and the inner crescent-shaped sickle is dominated by the sickle shape. 2. In Mongolian fetal ontogenesis, the inner and outer linings of the two knees differ in shape at the right and left knee joints, indicating a clear polymorphism.