Objective To explore the anatomical features of some major dorsal wrist interosseous l igaments, and to measure their biomechanical properties to screen a suitable donor site for the repair of scapholunate dorsal l igament. Methods Sixteen wrist joints from 8 frozen fresh male adult cadavers were selected, whose age was 20-38 years and whose height was 165-178 cm. There were no injuries to their wrists. The follow l igaments were observed and measured for the interosseous l igaments: volar and dorsal scapholunate l igaments (SL-v, SL-d), lunotriquetral dorsal l igament (LT), trapezoidcapitate dorsal l igament (TC), capitohamate l igament (CH) and the 2nd-4th carpometacarpal l igaments (CMC-2-4). The bone-l igament-bone samples of the above l igaments were prepared for further biomechanical measurements. Ligament extension testing was performed for each bone-l igament-bone sample on a material testing system. The broken load and length were measured and statistically analyzed. Results The SL and the LT were both “C” shape, attaching to the volar, proximal and dorsal joint surface. The TC and CH l igaments were mainly transverse fibers, which connected with each other at the dorsal side of capitate. The CMC-2-4 l igaments were obl iquitous fibers. Within these wrist interosseous l igaments, the SL-v and CMC-4 were relatively long. The l igament length differences were significant between SL-v and TC and between CMC-4 and TC (P lt; 0.05). TC and CMC-2 were fairly thick. But there was no significant difference among the l igaments (P gt; 0.05). SL-d had the highest broken load of (73.6 ± 9.6) N. The broken load differences were all significant between SL-d and other l igaments (P lt; 0.05). SL-v had largest broken length of (5.24 ± 1.65) mm. The broken length differences were all significant between SL-v and other l igaments (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion The anatomical structures and biomechanical features of the wrist interosseous l igaments were closely related with their physiological functions. CMC-2 and CH are both suitable to be used for the repair of scapholunate dorsal l igament.
Citation： XIONG Ge,ZHENG Wei,SUN Yankun,ZHANG Chunlin,GAO Xinsheng,YU Guoquan.. ANATOMICAL AND BIOMECHANICAL RESEARCH OF DORSAL WRIST INTEROSSEOUS LIGAMENTS. Chinese Journal of Reparative and Reconstructive Surgery, 2009, 23(1): 52-54. doi: Copy