The Basic Science of Human Knee Menisci

Information regarding the structure, composition, and function of the knee menisci has been scattered across multiple sources and fields. This review contains a concise, detailed description of the knee menisci-including anatomy, etymology, phylogeny, ultrastructure and biochemistry, vascular anatomy and neuroanatomy, biomechanical function, maturation and aging, and imaging modalities.A literature search was performed by a review of PubMed and OVID articles published from 1858 to 2011.This study highlights the structural, compositional, and functional characteristics of the menisci, which may be relevant to clinical presentations, diagnosis, and surgical repairs.An understanding of the normal anatomy and biomechanics of the menisci is a necessary prerequisite to understanding the pathogenesis of disorders involving the knee.