Purpose: To identify the femoral footprint of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in Koreans.
Materials and methods: Eighteen embalmed cadaveric knees (mean age, 70 years) were examined. First, the shape of the ACL was determined macroscopically. After the ACL femoral footprint was defined, the ACL was cut from the femur and a Kirschner wire was inserted into the center of the ACL, and the position was verified with a C-arm. The position was quantified on the C-arm field using the quadrant method. The length and width of the ACL were measured.
Results: Macroscopically, the ACL is a flat single bundle with an average length of 34 mm and an average width of 9 mm. On average, the center of the ACL insertion site measured with the quadrant method was positioned at 29.5%±2.8% in an anterior direction (from posterior), and at 38.5%±3.2% in a distal direction (from Blumensaat's line). The anterior and posterior margins of the ACL femoral footprint were the resident's ridge and the cartilage margin of the lateral femoral condyle, respectively.
Conclusions: The center of the ACL femoral footprint is positioned more anteriorly and distally than the positions identified in previous studies.
Keywords: Anterior cruciate ligament; Knee; Reconstruction.