- Discussion:
- limited peripheral blood supply originates predominantly from the
lateral and medial geniculate arteries (both inferior and superior)
- these supply the meniscus through a vascular synovial covering of anterior and posterior horn attachments;
- branches from these vessels arborize to form a perimeniscal capillary plexus within the synovial and capsular tissues of knee joint;
- this synovial network of vessels extends for one to three mm over articular surfaces of menisci & contain small, terminally looped vessels;
- vascular supply to meniscus is age dependent;
- in adult, peripheral 3 mm of the menisci as well as anterior and posterior horns are well vascularized;
- tears that occur between 3 to 5-mm zone have variable vascularity;
- tears greater than 5 mm from the meniscosynovial junction are generally avascular;
- degree of vascular penetration is 10 - 30 % of width of
medial meniscus and 10 to 25 % of the width of the
lateral meniscus;
The microvasculature of the meniscus and its response to injury. An experimental study in the dog.
Microvasculature of the human meniscus. Arnoczky SP, Warren RF: Am J Sports Med 1982;10:90-95.
Vascularity for healing of meniscus repairs. CE Henning et al. Arthroscopy. Vol 3. p 13. 1987.
