Which Type of Cartilage (Meniscus or Articular)?
Confusion in describing meniscal tears in the knee commonly arises because there are two kinds of cartilage in the knee. Footballers tear their cartilages commonly. This is properly termed a meniscal tear since these cartilages are like little shock absorbers between the thigh and shin bone. They each form a horseshoe, one on the inner side and one on the outer side of the knee between the femur and the tibia which makes the flat top surface of the tibia into a bit of a socket to take the curved bottom end of the femur. The meniscus looks a bit like an incomplete tap washer or gasket. The cartilages work by redistributing the forces by making the bottom end of the femur fit better, ie: be more congruent with the shape of the top end of tibia. The second kind of cartilage is the gristle ending of the bone. This a layer which coats the ivory bone surface. This is the bearing surface and made out of quite a different material from the meniscus, perfectly designed for near frictionless mov
