What are the ligaments in the knee?
The knee contains four ligaments that connect the large bone in the upper leg (femur, or thighbone) to the large bone in the lower leg (tibia, or shin bone). These ligaments hold the bones together and help control the way the knee moves. Two of these ligaments, the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL), are on either side of the knee. The other two ligaments are inside the knee and cross each other as they run diagonally from the bottom of the femur to the top of the tibia.
