Function of the cruciate ligaments in knee stability.

Anatomic studies of the knee have led to confusion regarding the importance and function of the cruciate ligaments. Herzmark’ noted extremely well-developed cruciates in the cat and the macaque, whose weight-bearing activity occurred with the knee partially flexed Because man had an erect posture and bore weight with the knee extended, Herzmark believed that the cruciate ligaments were relatively unimportant in stability of the human knee and that the ligaments represented vestigial structures. Studies by Brantigan and Voshell,2 and later by Helfet,3 described the functional anatomic importance of the cruciate ligaments