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The Knee Joint pp 11–21Cite as

The cruciate ligaments: Anatomy, biology, and biomechanics

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Abstract

The first mentioning of the cruciate ligaments originates from an Egyptian papyrus role dated around 3000 BC. Hippocrates described the typical subluxation of the knee joint caused by cruciate ligament defi ciency around 460–370 BC. It is believed that Claudius Galen von Pergamen (129–199 BC) is responsible for the naming of the cruciate ligaments, calling them “ligament genu cruciata.” In 1836, the Weber brothers from Goettingen, Germany, published a detailed analysis of the eff ect of cruciate ligament insufficiency on knee kinematics (1). The first English detailed description of cruciate ligament anatomy, biomechancis, and injury pattern was presented by I. Palmer (2) in his thesis work and defined the positive anterior drawer phenomenon after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

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Scheffler, S. (2012). The cruciate ligaments: Anatomy, biology, and biomechanics. In: The Knee Joint. Springer, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-287-99353-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-287-99353-4_2

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