The oblique popliteal ligament (posterior ligament) is a broad, flat, fibrous band on the posterior

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the ...

representing an expansion of the tendon of the semimembranosus muscle. It attaches onto the intercondylar fossa and lateral condyle of the

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates ...

Anatomy

The oblique popliteal ligament is formed as a lateral expansion of the tendon of the semimembranosus muscle and represents one of the muscle's five insertions. The ligament blends with the posterior portion of the knee joint capsule. The ligament passes superiorly and laterally to attach to the intercondylar fossa and lateral condyle of the

Structure

The ligament is formed of

fasciculi Fascicle or ''fasciculus'' may refer to: Anatomy and histology * Muscle fascicle, a bundle of skeletal muscle fibers * Nerve fascicle, a bundle of axons (nerve fibers) ** Superior longitudinal fasciculus *** Arcuate fasciculus ** Gracile fasci ...

separated from one another by apertures for the passage of vessels and nerves.

Relations

The oblique popliteal ligament forms part of the floor of the

popliteal fossa The popliteal fossa (also referred to as hough, .html" ;"title="/sup>">/sup> or kneepit in analogy to the cubital fossa) is a shallow depression located at the back of the knee joint. The bones of the popliteal fossa are the femur and the tibia ...

; the

popliteal artery The popliteal artery is a deeply placed continuation of the femoral artery opening in the distal portion of the adductor magnus muscle. It courses through the popliteal fossa and ends at the lower border of the popliteus muscle, where it branche ...

lies upon the ligament. The ligament is pierced by posterior division of the

obturator nerve The obturator nerve in human anatomy arises from the ventral divisions of the second, third, and fourth lumbar nerves in the lumbar plexus; the branch from the third is the largest, while that from the second is often very small. Structure The o ...

, as well as the middle genicular nerve, the

middle genicular artery The middle genicular artery (azygos articular artery) is a small branch of the popliteal artery. It supplies parts of the knee joint. Structure The middle genicular artery (MGA) arises from the anterolateral surface of the popliteal artery. Thi ...

, and the middle genicular vein.

Clinical significance

The oblique popliteal ligament may be damaged, causing a valgus deformity. Surgical repair of the ligament often leads to better outcomes than

conservative management Conservative management is a type of medical treatment defined by the avoidance of invasive measures such as surgery or other invasive procedures, usually with the intent to preserve function or body parts. For example, in appendicitis, conservati ...

. The oblique popliteal ligament may be cut during

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

meniscus repair surgery.

Additional images

File:Gray350.png, Sagittal section of right knee-joint.

References

External links

* * () * - "Major Joints of the Lower Extremity: Knee Joint" Ligaments of the lower limb {{ligament-stub