Biomechanical significance of menisci, methods of repairing damage (literature review) | Ukrainian Medical Journal

Recent studies confirm the important biomechanical and functional significance of menisci in the knee joint, which prevent damage and degeneration of articular cartilage, the occurrence and development of arthrosis. Therefore, there is a need for research on the effective repair of meniscus damage, which occurs not only in the peripheral vascularized zone, but also in the medial avascular zone, as is known, the latter receives a high mechanical load. Until now, the main method of treatment has been partial meniscectomy, which leads to the progression of arthrosis. Therefore, various approaches to restoring the functional and anatomical structure of the meniscus in vitro are being considered. Autologous, allogeneic or xenogeneic or stem cells are used. The growing understanding of the importance of the anatomical and functional utility of the meniscus in the knee joint is initiating the transition from meniscectomy to partial resection and to attempts at meniscal transplantation. The main challenges in this field coincide with the main challenges of tissue engineering in general: the development of functional tissue that reflects the composition of the native tissue, which will satisfactorily integrate with the recipient and which will allow long-term preservation of cell viability and meniscal function.

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