The Classification of Knee Meniscal Cartilage Tears

Meniscal cartilage tears are among the most common orthopaedic pathologic conditions. The incidence of meniscal cartilage tears increases with age and as such will present a growing problem in the United States and other developed countries experiencing aging populations. To properly diagnose and assess treatment of cartilage tears classification systems are necessary to categorize and compare outcomes. There are several traditional methods of classifying tears based on their morphologic characteristics, vascular anatomy, and location. Recently there has been an interest in tear types that may have been known but were not widely recognized. Advances in arthroscopic techniques have facilitated both the diagnosis and treatment of cartilage tears. A solid knowledge of the classification of meniscal tears is essential to their proper treatment.