Age-related changes in ACL morphology during skeletal growth and maturation are different between females and males.

ABSTRACT: Despite a well-established role of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) anatomy on its biomechanics, little is known on how ACL anatomy develops and changes during skeletal growth. We hypothesized that ACL size and orientation will change by age during skeletal growth and maturation with different trends in males vs females. Magnetic resonance images of 269 unique knees (3-18 years old; 51% female) were used to measure ACL length, cross-sectional area, length-to-cross-sectional area ratio, and elevation angles. In both males and females, ACLs became longer, thicker, and more vertical in sagittal and coronal planes by increasing age (R²  > 0.2; P < .001 for all associations). ACL cross-sectional area-to-length ratio increased by age only in males (R²  = 0.06; P = .003). De

SUBMITTER: Hosseinzadeh S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7674212 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature