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The elephant knee joint: morphological and biomechanical considerations

热2 宇晟添加于 2010-5-30 23:12 | 2104 次阅读 | 3 个评论

作者
Weissengruber GE, Fuss FK, Egger G, Stanek G, Hittmair KM, Forstenpointner G
摘要
Elephant limbs display unique morphological features which are related mainly to supporting the enormous body weight of the animal. In elephants, the knee joint plays important roles in weight bearing and locomotion, but anatomical data are sparse and lacking in functional analyses. In addition, the knee joint is affected frequently by arthrosis. Here we examined structures of the knee joint by means of standard anatomical techniques in eight African (Loxodonta africana) and three Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Furthermore, we performed radiography in five African and two Asian elephants and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in one African elephant. Macerated bones of 11 individuals (four African, seven Asian elephants) were measured with a pair of callipers to give standardized measurements of the articular parts. In one Asian and three African elephants, kinematic and functional analyses were carried out using a digitizer and according to the helical axis concept. Some peculiarities of healthy and arthrotic knee joints of elephants were compared with human knees. In contrast to those of other quadruped mammals, the knee joint of elephants displays an extended resting position. The femorotibial joint of elephants shows a high grade of congruency and the menisci are extremely narrow and thin. The four-bar mechanism of the cruciate ligaments exists also in the elephant. The main motion of the knee joint is extension-flexion with a range of motion of 142 degrees . In elephants, arthrotic alterations of the knee joint can lead to injury or loss of the cranial (anterior) cruciate ligament.
详细资料
- 关键词: Animals; Arthrography/methods; Biomechanics; Elephants/*anatomy & histology/physiology; Female; Femur/anatomy & histology/physiology; Hindlimb; Humans; Joint Diseases/pathology/physiopathology; Joints/*anatomy & histology/physiology; Ligaments, Articular/anatomy & histology/physiology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods; Male; Menisci, Tibial/anatomy & histology/physiology; Patella/anatomy & histology/physiology; Range of Motion, Articular/physiology
- 文献种类:期刊
- 期刊名称: Journal of Anatomy
- 期刊缩写: J Anat
- 期卷页: 2006年第208卷第1期 59-72页
- 地址: Anatomy, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria. gerald.weissengruber@vu-wien.ac.at
- ISBN: 0021-8782
- 备注:PMID:16420379
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比较解剖学之大象

It is well-known that the osteoarthritis always happens in the fat,old people.This is an intersting paper which investigates the structures of the elephant knee joint and the morphology and function of the cruciate ligamnets.In this paper, an method called helical axis concept which used to assess the kinematics of knee may be applied in our kangaroo project.

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