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Review
. 2025 Feb 10;12(1):e70172.
doi: 10.1002/jeo2.70172. eCollection 2025 Jan.

Anterolateral corner of knee: Current concepts

Amit Meena  1 , Manish Attri  2 , Luca Farinelli  3   4 , Vicente Campos  5 , Karan Rajpal  6 , Riccardo D'Ambrosi  7   8 , Shahbaz Malik  9 , Darren de Sa  10 , Christian Fink  11 , Sachin Tapasvi  6
Affiliations
Review

Anterolateral corner of knee: Current concepts

Amit Meena et al. J Exp Orthop. .

Abstract

The anatomy of the antero-lateral corner (ALC) has been the topic of recent interest, as evidenced by the increasing number of publications. Knowledge needs to be improved amongst clinicians regarding the anatomy and biomechanical function of this vital structure and its implications on the rotational stability of the knee. There has yet to be a consensus on the role of surgical procedures and their indications for addressing the instability associated with the injury to these structures. Through this article, the authors have tried to outline the existing literature regarding Anterolateral knee instability, the associated structures, and the management of its injuries, emphasising the role of the anterolateral capsule and reconstructive procedures in combined ligamentous knee injuries.

Keywords: anterolateral capsule; anterolateral instability; anterolateral ligament; knee; rotatory instability; rotatory laxity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Anatomy of the anterolateral ligament (ALL). It originates in the lateral epicondyle, anterior and distal to the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) origin. It follows an anteroinferior course toward the tibia, with tibial insertion between the Gerdy tubercle (GT) and the fibular head (FH), slightly more than 5 mm below the articular cartilage of the lateral tibial plateau. AL, articular line; LFC, lateral femoral condyle; LM, lateral meniscus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The anterolateral ligament (ALL) has close interaction with the popliteus tendon and the iliotibial band.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Various anterolateral extra‐articular procedures. F1: Femoral tunnel position for ALL reconstruction and Lemaire procedures (5 mm posterior and proximal to the femoral epicondyle). F2: Femoral tunnel position for modified MacIntosh procedure (70 mm posterior and proximal to the femoral epicondyle). T1: Tibial tunnel position for ALL reconstruction (equidistant from the centre of Gerdy tubercle (GT) and the anterior margin of the fibular head and 10 mm distal to the joint line). ALL, anterolateral ligament; LCL, lateral collateral ligament.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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