The undefined anatomical variations of the deltoid ligament bundles: a cadaveric study

Abstract

Introduction: Recently, Cromeens proposed a new interpretation of the deltoid ligament (DL) using its attachment sites to define individual components. The aim of this cadaveric study was to evaluate the reproducibility of this new classification and investigate anatomical variations of the ligament to contribute to reaching an evidencebased consensus regarding its ligamentous constituent bands, their origins and insertions. Methods: The classification was applied to study only four components of the DL: the tibiocalcaneonavicular (TCN), the superficial posterior tibiotalar (sPTT), the deep anterior tibiotalar (dATT) and the deep posterior tibiotalar (dPTT) ligaments. Fifteen fresh frozen ankles were dissected and the deltoid ligament components de-fined by their attachment sites and measured on the three axes.