Sensory nerve endings in the cat cruciate ligaments: a morphological investigation.

The histology of the cat anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments was studied using the modified Gairns gold chloride staining for neural elements. Ruffini endings, Pacinian corpuscles, Golgi tendon organ-like endings and free nerve endings were identified. All receptor types were most frequently found close to the tibial and femoral insertions. The results are consistent with our earlier findings that small increases in the tension of the ligaments can potently influence the fusimotor system to the muscles acting at the knee joint, and thereby participate in the regulation of their stiffness and the knee joint stability.