The plica syndrome in the knee: a histopathological pilot study
The plica syndrome, a condition caused by hypertrophy of the medial plica in the knee, is clinically characterized by antero-medial knee pain, especially in sport activities involving repetitive joint extension and flexion. Despite its high prevalence in young individuals, it is often overlooked, an...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
September 2025
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| In: |
Pathology, research and practice
Year: 2025, Volume: 273, Pages: 1-5 |
| ISSN: | 1618-0631 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.prp.2025.156152 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prp.2025.156152 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0344033825003450 
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| Author Notes: | David Grevenstein, Andreas Mamilos, Volker H. Schmitt, Maximilian Babel, Markus Rupp, Lina Winter, Christoph Brochhausen |
| Summary: | The plica syndrome, a condition caused by hypertrophy of the medial plica in the knee, is clinically characterized by antero-medial knee pain, especially in sport activities involving repetitive joint extension and flexion. Despite its high prevalence in young individuals, it is often overlooked, and there is a lack of systematic examination regarding characteristic histopathological changes associated with this syndrome. We performed a retrospective histological evaluation using haematoxylin-eosin, Elastica van Gieson and Berlin-blue staining and correlated clinical data of 45 plicae obtained from patients diagnosed with symptomatic plica syndrome. Our analysis focused on identifying characteristic pathological changes, especially acute and chronic inflammatory signs. The majority of examined plicae showed signs of fibrosis. Chronic inflammatory reactions dominated over acute inflammatory reactions. Additionally, hypertrophy of the synovial covering cells was observed. Lymphocyte aggregation occurred, while bleeding and fatty tissue reorganisation were rare. Our findings suggest that inflammation plays an active role in the development and maintenance of the plica syndrome. Future studies should prioritize the development of a histopathological scoring system for plica syndrome and the question whether the plica syndrome represents a risk factor for osteoarthritis. |
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| Item Description: | Online verfügbar: 28. Juli 2025, Artikelversion: 30. Juli 2025 Gesehen am 08.01.2026 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1618-0631 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.prp.2025.156152 |