Apoorva D1, Lalitha C2, Girish V. Patil3
ABSTRACT: Ankle joint (talocrural) is a hinge joint. The ligaments of this joint are medial and lateral collateral ligaments. Medial deltoid ligament has superficial and deep components. Lateral collateral ligament has Anterior Talofibular (ATFL), Calcaneofibular (CFL) and Posterior Talofibular ligaments (PTFL) as three discrete parts. These two major ligamentous complexes are the main stabilizers of ankle joint which are appreciated both in MRI and cadaveric dissections. Ankle sprains are most common in athletes and in other sports like basketball, soccer, football and volleyball. Lateral ankle sprains account for about 85% of all ankle sprains; with anterior talofibular ligament being the most frequently injured. Morphometry and variations of ligaments of ankle has not been well documented in literature. Hence this study was taken up. Study was done by dissection on 60 cadaveric lower limbs, irrespective of sex from the Department of Anatomy, Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore. By dissection, both single (18%) as well as double banded (82%) ATFL were found. The average length and width of ATFL irrespective of side was noted. There was no statistical significance in the values between the right and the left ankles. The data represented in this study may be important when considering surgical repair or reconstruction of traumatized or attenuated collateral ligaments.
