Horizontal (Cleavage) Tears of the Knee‐joint Menisci in the Elderly

Abstract

At autopsy, extensive knee arthrotomies were performed on 11 Scottish males (average age 77) and 11 females (average age 75) who had died from various medical disorders and had no history of complaints referable to the knees. The aim was to study the incidence of horizontal (cleavage) tears of the menisci in the general population. In the males, there was a high incidence of cleavage tears of the medial meniscus (in 14 of 22 knees) whereas the lateral menisci were usually normal (in 21 of 22 knees). In the females, there was a low incidence of both medial (in 6 of 22 knees) and lateral meniscal tears (in 2 of 22 knees). Cleavage tears of the medial meniscus in geriatric males may be part of the aging process, and this should be kept in mind if surgery is contemplated for reasons other than severe symptoms.