부산대학교 도서관

We assessed self tendon grafting using the patellar ligament in rabbits by electron microscopic observation of the progress of ligament repair following grafting. Using adult Japanese white rabbits, central region, comprising one-third of the total length of the patellar ligament was extirpated with or without the bone under systematic anesthesia, and the pediculate graft an free graft pieces were collected for use in the reconstructive operation of the anterior cruciate ligament. The animals were sacrificed 4, 12 and 24 weeks after grafting to collect the grafted ligaments. The ligaments were prefixed with a mixture solution of 4% paraformaldehyde and 5% glutaraldehyde. Subsequently, the ligaments were postfixed with 1% osmium tetroxide and embedded in an Epon-Araldite mixture. Ultrathin sections were stained with uranylacetate and lead citrate, and examined with an Hitachi HS-9 electron microscope. In the grafted ligaments, the fibroblasts appeared to be enlarged and also increased in number, compared with those in the normal patellar ligament. Many enlarged granular endoplasmic reticula and well developed Golgi apparatus were observed in the cytoplasm of the fibroblasts in the grafted ligaments 4 and 12 weeks after grafting. The nuclei which were of angled in shape were fever in number, and most of these were elliptic in shape. For the collagen fibrils, biphasic distribution of thick fibrils (100-300nm in diameter) and thin fibrils (10-20nm in diameter) were observed in the normal patellar ligament. However, the grafted ligaments exhibited uniform distribution of the fibrils mostly with diameter of 30-60 nm ; the density of the distribution was slightly sparse compared with those of the nomal patellar ligament. No large difference was observed in the growing processes of the grafted tissues between the pediculate grafts and free grafts. From these findings, it was suggested that the grafted ligaments in the reconstructive operation of the anterior cruciate ligament by the use of the patellar ligament may be recomposed in the transplanted area and transformed into the structure similar to the anterior cruciate ligament. Further, there was no large difference in the grafting processes between the pediculate grafting and free grafting.