Illustration of the connection between the vastus medialis obliquus muscle and the superficial medial collateral ligament of the knee: A human knee cadaveric study

Background: While the anatomy of the medial part of the knee has been extensively described, the muscular connections to the superficial medial collateral ligament (sMCL) have not been sufficiently studied. The purpose of this study is to describe the anatomy of the musculo-ligamentous connection between the sMCL and the Vastus Medialis Obliquus muscle (VMO), and to describe its anatomy. Methods: Six Human Cadaveric knees were used in this study. Donors were 4 males and 2 females with a mean age of 49 years old. Dissection was performed in fixed knee extension and directed to show the area of the proximal attachment of the sMCL. Results: A musculo ligamentous connection between the distal portion of the Vastus medialis Obliquus muscle and the sMCL has been identified in our entire specimens. The mean mid substance width of this connection was 9.75 (8.7 -10.8) mm, the mean length was 29.3 (22.2-36.4) mm and the mean thickness was 1.3 (0.9-1.7) mm. Conclusion: The proximal femoral attachment of the sMCL is directly connected to the distal end of VMO. This connection may show that the sMCL can possibly assist in the dynamic stabilization of the knee during extension against valgus stress, through its tension by the contracted VMO muscle.