Objective To observe and measure the lateral retinacular nerve (LRN) in order to facilitate diagnostic and therapeutic nerve block and treatment for anterolateral knee pain. Methods Total 34 lower limbs had been dissected from 17 normal adult specimens. The exact location and main branches of the sciatic nerve (SN) were observed by specimen dissection. The posterior branch of the knee, superior lateral genicular nerve (SLGN) was dissected. Its first branch LRN was determined by tracing to the end. The first measurement point was the position from LRN branch of SLGN to the lateral tibiofemoral knee line. The second measurement point was the position from LRN branch of SLGN to the top of the external epicondyle of femur. Results The average distance of the first measuring point was (55.00±3.22) mm. The average distance of the second measuring point was (26.00±2.42) mm. There was gender differences. In which, the average distance of the first measurement point in male was (57.00±3.64) mm, and the average distance of the second measurement point in male was (27.00±2.72) mm. The average distance of the two measurement points in female was (51.00±1.14) mm, (23.00±0.54) mm, respectively. The evaluation of the two measurement points showed that, the probability of the first measurement point locating in knee joint was 100%, while the probability of the second measurement point locating in knee joint was 67%. Conclusions The study provides two dependable landmarks and a description of the path of the LRN making it possible to target the lateral retinacular nerve to diagnose and alleviate lateral knee pain.
Key words
The lateral retinacular nerve /
Knee joint /
Anatomical measurement
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