posterior cruciate ligament

noun

: a cruciate ligament of each knee that attaches the back of the tibia with the front of the femur and functions especially to limit the backward motion of the tibia

Examples of posterior cruciate ligament in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adams sprained the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee back in January 2023. —Rahat Huq, Forbes, 22 Sep. 2024

This includes the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and a group of ligaments on the outer corner of the back of the knee (called the posterolateral corner).3 Injuries to these structures are typically sudden and occur as the result of a traumatic injury, like a car accident or a blow to the leg. —Anita C. Chandrasekaran, Verywell Health, 12 Sep. 2024

Each of your knees has four ligaments running from your femur to your tibia and fibula: an MCL, an ACL, a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and a lateral collateral ligament (LCL). —Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024

After overcoming a torn posterior cruciate ligament in her knee that forced her to miss half of her junior season, Caroline made two go-ahead free throws with 21 seconds left in double overtime in last year’s 6A state final, only for Fayetteville High to lose 52-51 on a shot in the final seconds. —Dallas News, 21 Feb. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

posterior cruciate ligament

noun

: a cruciate ligament of each knee that is attached medially in back between the condyles of the tibia, that passes upward and forward through the middle of the knee crossing the anterior cruciate ligament to attach to the medial aspect of the femur, that functions to prevent hyperflexion of the knee and to keep the tibia from sliding backward in relation to the femur when the knee is flexed, and that is stronger and less subject to sports injury by tearing than the anterior cruciate ligament

called also PCL