Cruciate ligament

Cruciate ligaments
Illustration of the ligaments of the knee, including the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments
Anatomical terminology

Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in a toy Jacob's ladder, the crossed ligaments stabilize the joint while allowing a very large range of motion.

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