Characterizing Lapine Meniscal Tissue: A Regional Comparison Between Normal Medial and Lateral Menisci

The meniscus is comprised of two semilunar disks resting between the articular surface of the tibial plateaus and femoral condyles within the knee joint of each leg [1–3]. Both the medial and lateral menisci play a vital role in maintaining the joint’s integrity by distributing loads, stabilizing and lubricating the joint, and proprioceptive functions [2,3]. While the meniscus is found in many animals, morphological variations are present between species, indicating differences in the biomechanics of the joint [1,2]. These anatomical variations have not been quantified and, thus, remain unlinked to further structural changes that occur with injury. The goals of this study were aimed towards characterizing the normal lapine meniscal tissue using regional comparisons for tissue area and cell density measurements. The preliminary data from this research will be used as a comparison against future animal injury models. It was hypothesized that a difference would be observed between anterior, central, and posterior divisions in the normal lapine meniscus.