Bony Landmarks of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tibial Footprint

Background:Although the importance of tibial tunnel position for achieving stability after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction was recently recognized, there are fewer detailed reports of the anatomy of the tibial topographic footprint compared with the femoral side.Hypothesis:The ACL tibial footprint has a relationship to bony prominences and surrounding bony landmarks.Study Design:Descriptive laboratory study.Methods:This study consisted of 2 anatomic procedures for the identification of bony prominences that correspond to the ACL tibial footprint and 3 surrounding landmarks: the anterior ridge, lateral groove, and intertubercular fossa. In the first procedure, after computed tomography (CT) was performed on 12 paired, embalmed cadaveric knees, 12 knees were visually observed, while their contralateral knees were histologically observed. Comparisons were made between macroscopic and microscopic findings and 3-dimensional (3D) CT images of these bony landmarks. In the second procedure, the sh...