Morphological characteristics of the lateral talocalcaneal ligament: a large-scale anatomical study
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Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to clarify the morphological characteristics of the lateral talocalcaneal ligament (LTCL).
Methods
This study examined 100 legs from 54 Japanese cadavers. The LTCL was classified into three types: Type I, the LTCL branches from the calcaneofibular ligament (CFL); Type II, the LTCL is independent of the CFL and runs parallel to the calcaneus; and Type III, the LTCL is absent. The morphological features measured were fiber bundle length, fiber bundle width, and fiber bundle thickness.
Results
The LTCL was classified as Type I in 18 feet (18%), Type II in 24 feet (24%), and Type III in 58 feet (58%). All LTCLs were associated with the anterior talofibular ligament at the talus. There was no significant difference in morphological characteristics by Type for each ligament.
Conclusions
The LTCL was similar to the CFL in terms of fiber bundle width and fiber bundle thickness.
Keywords
Calcaneofibular Ligament Subtalar joint Gross anatomyNotes
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by a Research Activity Young B Grant (20632326) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and a Grant-in-Aid from Niigata University of Health and Welfare (H30B05).
Author contributions
ME, IK, and TK contributed to study design and data collection and drafted the manuscript; TT, WI, EN, RH, and TI contributed to data analysis and made critical revisions to the manuscript; MI, FK, AK, and HI made critical revisions to the manuscript; GO supervised the study, contributed to analysis and interpretation of data, and made critical revisions to the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript prior to submission.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
The methods were carried out in accordance with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and the cadavers were legally donated for the research by the Nippon Dental University of Life Dentistry at Niigata in Japan.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from the families of all subjects.
Availability of data and material
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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