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Neural anatomy of the human anterior cruciate ligament.
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1987
Year
Free Nerve-endingsTopographical AnatomyAnatomyOrthopedic BiomechanicsOrthopaedic SurgeryAnterior Cruciate LigamentSoft Tissue InjuryApplied AnatomyBiomechanicsOsteoarthritisHealth SciencesMechanobiologyHuman Musculoskeletal SystemNeuroanatomyPhysiologyNeural ElementsNeuroscienceNeural AnatomyMedicine
The histology of the anterior cruciate ligament was examined using a modified Gairns gold chloride stain to reveal neural elements. The study identified three mechanoreceptor types—two slow‑adapting Ruffini, one rapidly adapting Pacinian—along with pain‑related free nerve endings, with neural elements constituting about 1 % of the ligament area.
The histology of the anterior cruciate ligament was studied by a modified technique of the Gairns gold chloride stain for neural elements. Three morphological types of mechanoreceptors and free nerve-endings were identified: two of the slow-adapting Ruffini type and the third, a rapidly adapting Pacinian corpuscle. Rapidly adapting receptors signal motion and slow-adapting receptors subserve speed and acceleration. Free nerve-endings, which are responsible for pain, were also identified within the ligament. These neural elements comprise 1 per cent of the area of the anterior cruciate ligament.