Two methods of ligament injury: a morphological comparison in a rabbit model

Our purpose in this study was to compare morphologically the reproducibility and control of two common methods of ligament injury. Polarized light and scanning electron microscopy were used to quantify the injury patterns and the extent of ligament damage caused by scalpel division and wire rupture of rabbit medial collateral ligaments. Results demonstrate that the scalpel cut and wire rupture methods of ligament injury are each controllable and reproducible in location, pattern, and extent of ligament damage. The wire rupture technique, however, produced consistently more extensive midsubstance ligament damage than the scalpel cut and thus created an injury pattern that better simulated the extent of damage seen in clinical injuries. Although neither technique was an ideal simulation of clinical injuries, results suggest that the wire rupture technique is a more relevant technique to study ligament injury and healing in this model.