Deltoid Ligament Study in Terms of its Shape and Size

There are two major ligamentous complexes of ankle joint which are appreciated both in MRI and cadaveric dissections. They are medial and lateral collateral ligaments. The lateral ligaments has three discrete parts, Anterior Talofibular, Posterior Talofibular and Calcaneofibular ligaments. The medial collateral (deltoid) ligament is attached to the tip, anterior and posterior borders of medial malleolus. It has superficial anterior (tibionavicular), intermediate (tibiocalcaneal), posterior fibres (posterior tibiotalar) and deeper fibers anterior tibiotalar ligament. Ankle sprains are most common in atheletes and in other sports like basketball, soccer, football and volleyball. Study of ligaments interms of its shape and size is helpful to understand the mechanism and extent of injury. It may also reconstructive surgeries to replace the damaged ligament. Study was conducted on 60 formalin fixed adult cadaveric lower limbs, irrespective of sex from the Department of Anatomy, Kempegowda Institute Of Medical Sciences, Bangalore Superficial component of Deltoid ligament described three different shapes: trapezoidal- 43 ( 71.66 %), rectangular- 12 (20 %) and triangular shaped- 5 (8.3 %) specimens. The mean values of anterior and posterior borders of superficial deltoid ligament were found to be statistically significant between rectangle and triangular and also between trapezoidal and rectangle. Also there was significant difference between the mean values of top border between trapezoidal and rectangular forms of deltoid ligament. There are not much literature available of ankle ligaments on Indian population. Thus, further studies on the morphometric of ligaments of ankle are required to compare the values and to draw further conclusions.