The Ankle Retinacula: Morphological Evidence of the Proprioceptive Role of the Fascial System

NewsBot · Mar 4, 2010

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The Ankle Retinacula: Morphological Evidence of the Proprioceptive Role of the Fascial System.
Stecco C, Macchi V, Porzionato A, Morra A, Parenti A, Stecco A, Delmas V, De Caro R.
Cells Tissues Organs. 2010 Feb 27. [Epub ahead of print]

Objectives: To evaluate the anatomical characteristics of the ankle retinacula and their relationship with the fasciae and muscles in healthy subjects and in patients with ankle sprain outcomes.

Background: The role of the retinacula in proprioception has begun to emerge, but without clear anatomical bases or descriptions of their possible damage in patients with ankle sprain outcomes.

Methods: Dissection, histological and immunohistochemical analysis of 27 legs. An in vivo radiological study by MRI was also performed on 7 healthy volunteers, 17 patients with outcomes of ankle sprain, and 3 amputated legs.

Results: The retinacula are thickenings of the deep fascia presenting bone or muscular connections. They are formed of 2-3 layers of parallel collagen fibre bundles, densely packaged with a little loose connective tissue, without elastic fibres but many nervous fibres and corpuscles. By MRI, the retinacula appeared as low-signal-intensity bands with a mean thickness of 1 mm. In patients with outcomes of ankle sprain, MR findings were abnormal retinacula thickness, signal intensity, and full-thickness gap.

Discussion: The retinacula are not static structures for joint stabilisation, like the ligaments, but a specialisation of the fascia for local spatial proprioception of the movements of foot and ankle. Their anatomical variations and accessory bundles may be viewed as morphological evidence of the integrative role of the fascial system in peripheral control of articular motility.
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NewsBot · Oct 14, 2017

Mid-foot retinaculum: an unrecognized entity
Swathi, Geetha Gangadaran Nellithala, and Sunita Arvind Athavale
Anat Cell Biol. 2017 Sep;50(3):171-174

Retinacula are thickenings of deep fascia in the region of joints that hold down the tendons preventing them from bowing out of position. In the region of ankle, number of such retinacula have been described. Retinacula like superior and inferior extensor retinacula have been described which hold down the tendons of leg muscles passing to the foot beneath them. As the extensor tendons of the leg have more distal attachment to the toes, the present study was conducted to ascertain the presence of any additional retinaculum in the mid-foot region, which would tie down the tendons for their effective action at the distal joints. The aim was also to determine the attachments of the retinaculum, if present as well as the structures passing beneath them. Fifty cadaveric feet were dissected carefully for this purpose. Presence of an additional extensor retinaculum distal to the inferior band of inferior extensor retinaculum in the mid-foot region was found in 22 feet. Besides the extensor tendons, medial terminal branch of deep peroneal nerve and dorsalis pedis artery was found to pass beneath the retinaculum. A partial or complete mid-foot retinaculum existed in the mid-foot region covering the tarsometatarsal joints in about half of study population. Functionally, this retinaculum may prevent bowstringing of the extensor tendons, clinically it may predispose to entrapment of deep peroneal nerve mimicking anterior tarsal tunnel syndrome.
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NewsBot · Sep 13, 2024

Ultrasound Imaging of Ankle Retinacula: A Comprehensive Review
Carmelo Pirri et al
Tomography. 2024 Aug 14;10(8):1277-1293

The retinacula of the ankle are specialized anatomical structures characterized by localized thickenings of the crural fascia that envelop the deep components of the lower leg, ankle and foot. The ankle retinacula include the extensor retinacula, the peroneal retinacula and flexor retinaculum. Despite their potential to explain persistent and unexplained pain following an injury, these structures are often overlooked or incorrectly diagnosed. Hence, this comprehensive review was performed aiming to investigate the use and the methodology of US imaging to assess ankle retinacula. The search was performed on PubMed and Web of Science databases from inception to May 2024. The MeSH keywords used were as follows: "Ankle Retinacula", "Foot Retinacula", "Superior extensor retinaculum", "Inferior extensor retinaculum", "peroneal retinaculum", "superior peroneal retinaculum", "inferior peroneal retinaculum", "flexor retinaculum", "Ultrasound Imaging", "Ultrasound", "Ultrasonography" and "Ultrasound examination". In total, 257 records underwent screening, resulting in 22 studies meeting the criteria for inclusion after the process of revision. Data heterogeneity prevents synthesis and consistent conclusions. The results showed that advanced US imaging holds promise as a crucial tool to perform an US examination of ankle retinacula, offering static and dynamic insights into ankle retinacula pathology. Understanding normal anatomy and US imaging is essential for accurately identifying injuries. Future research should focus on clinical trials to validate parameters and ensure their reliability in clinical practice.
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NewsBot · Nov 10, 2024

Revisiting the anatomy of inferior extensor retinaculum of foot and ankle, a study based on fifty embalmed adult cadaveric lower extremities
M. Praveen Shenoy et al
Translational Research in Anatomy Volume 38, March 2025, 100368

Highlights
•The human foot is still undergoing evolutionary changes upon assumption of erect posture.
•Scarcity of articles exist regarding the detailed anatomy of IER of foot, its variations, and relation to deeper tissues.
•The present study observed that, the anatomy of inferior extensor retinaculum is complex.
•Multiple septa arise from the undersurface of IER from both the stem and limbs, defining its compartments.
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Background
The facial condensation of deep fascia form retinacula, Superior and Inferior, with a primary function to hold the extensor tendons of the foot in position. The morphology of inferior extensor retinaculum (IER) is clinically important in the tendon rupture repair and foot drop surgeries. The anatomy of ankle and foot IER is not much investigated and this prompted us to conceptualize this study to investigate the morphology and morphological variants of IER.
Methods
This descriptive, cross-sectional institutional based study included 50 dorsa of feet from the 25 embalmed adult cadavers.
Results
The present study observed that, the anatomy of IER is complex wherein multiple septa of varied thickness arise from its undersurface from both the stem and limbs, defining its compartments. Five well defined compartments existed, which lodged the extensor tendons. The third compartment was deep and overlapped by the extensor digitorum longus tendons. Fourth compartment was well defined and lodged the extensor digitorum longus and peroneus tertius tendons, separated by an ill-defined septum. However, in 6 specimens (12 %), the peroneus tertius traversed the fifth compartment, which otherwise did not have any contents. Some morphological variants of the tendons were also noted as they passed beneath the IER.
Conclusion
Our study is novel in determining the compartment format, deeper connections of IER, and relations with deeper structures along with the anatomical variations, which are clinically important in ankle arthroscopy, tendinoscopy, tendon repairs and foot drop stabilization surgeries.
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The Ankle Retinacula: Morphological Evidence of the Proprioceptive Role of the Fascial System

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The Ankle Retinacula: Morphological Evidence of the Proprioceptive Role of the Fascial System

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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Share This Page

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