The Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Part 1 Structure: anatomy of the ACL; sensory role of the ACL. Part 2 Function: ACL function in the normal knee; tensile properties of the ACL as function of age; mechanical and viscoelastic properties of ACL and ACL fascicles; knee motions and their relations to ACL function; estimation of ACL loads in situ - indirect non-contact methods; measurement of ACL loads - direct methods; the measurement of ACL strain in vivo; joint kinematics in muscle stabilized knees; ACL forces in activity; ligament restraints in ACL deficient knees; functional evaluation of normal and ACL deficient knee using gait analysis techniques. Part 3 Injury, healing repair, reconstruction: cell biology of ligament and ligament healing; adhesion macromolecules of the ligament - the molecular glues in wound healing; molecular signals in ligament healing; collagen ultrastructure in the normal ACL and ACL graft; collagen remodelling in ACL reconstruction (Goat model); biomechanical properties of normal and healing ligaments. Part 4 ACL reconstruction and substitutes (biologic): the use of knee laxity testers for determination of anterior posterior stability of the knee - their pitfalls in practice; selecting patients for ACL surgery; mechanics of ACL reconstruction; acute repair of anterior cruciate ligament tears; autograft reconstruction of the ACL - placement, tensioning and preconditioning, patella tendon, semitendinosus ACL reconstruction; allograft reconstruction of the ACL - fresh frozen, freeze dried, fresh and cryopreserved; augmentation; prosthetic replacement for the ACL; complications - patellar entrapment following ACL injury, cyclops lesions, loss of motion following ACL reconstruction.