Historical perspective on the “discovery” of the anterolateral ligament of the knee

There is a lively debate about the existence, origins and discoverer of the anterolateral ligament of the knee. The complex anatomy of the lateral aspect of the knee has made it difficult to differentiate between various structures such as the iliotibial band, capsulo-osseous layer, Kaplan’s fibres and the anterolateral capsule. The “discovery” of a new anterolateral structure in 2013 was the culmination of many historical studies. In 1879, Paul Ferdinand Segond described a tibial plateau fracture in which he noted a pearly band reinforcing the joint capsule. Other anatomists had their suspicions about this ligament; it was described by Vallois in 1914 in his thesis and extensively studied by Jost in 1921. References to it can be found in comparative anatomy studies. This historical review serves as a reminder that understanding and treating knee sprains is not something new. V.