Meniscus (anatomy)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the parts in the human knee.
For other uses of the term meniscus, see meniscus and lens (optics).
In anatomy, a meniscus is either of two parts of the human knee. The knee contains a lateral meniscus and a medial meniscus. Both are cartilaginous tissues that provide structural integrity to the knee when it undergoes tension and torsion. The menisci are also known as 'semi-lunar' cartilages - referring to their half-moon shape - a term which has been largely dropped by the medical profession, but which led to the menisci being called knee 'cartilages' by the lay public.
In sports and orthopedics, people will sometimes speak of "meniscus surgery" or a "torn meniscus" and be referring to an injury to one of these two pads.
