Giant Synovial Cysts of the Calf in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Popliteal Cysts and Their Relation to the Gastrocnemio-Semimembranosus Bursa: Studies on the Surgical and Functional Anatomy

“…Though the current opinion today tends towards the view that popliteal cysts develop from distension of a communicating knee bursa (Wilson et al 1938, Morscher 1957, Hoffman 1963, Gristina & Wilson 1964, Bryan et al 1967, Perri et al 1968, Goldstein & Dickerson 1974, Smillie 1974, the concept of a hernial origin still widely prevails (Cravener 1932, Haggart 1938, Edmunds & Hebble 1939, Meyerding & van Demark 1943, Kuhn & Hemphill 1944, Sachs & Rubinstein 1946, Wiles 1949, Lewin 1952, Kirpila & Ripatti 1958, Beatty 1959, Colombo 1965, Wieser et al 1967, Solomon & Berman 1972, Pinder 1973, Aegerter & Kirkpatrick 1975.…”

Valvular mechanisms in juxta-articular cysts.

“…In a further study, Baker (1885) recorded similar cysts in association with diseases of other joints. Since then there have been many descriptions of popliteal and calf cysts in association with rheumatoid arthritis of the knee (Meyerding and VanDemark, 1943;Kersley, Barber, Cregan, and Gibson, 1954;Burleson, Bickel, and Dahlin, 1956;Beatty, 1959;Harvey and Corcos, 1960;Maudsley and Arden, 1961;Good, 1964;Litwin, Lister, and Rotstein, 1964;Kogstad, 1965;Hall and Scott, 1966;Perri, Rodnan, and Mankin, 1968). Cysts have also been reported in association with other inflammatory joint diseases, such as brucellosis (Harris, 1943), gout, tuberculosis, and non-specific synovitis (Burleson and others, 1956), and polymyalgia rheumatica with knee effusions (Kogstad, 1965).…”

The pathology and evaluation of surgical treatment in a ruptured giant popliteal/crural cyst associated with rheumatoid arthritis

“…As for the etiological mechanism of popliteal/crural cyst, Perri et al 9 also suggested the following possibilities: (1) enlargement of the gastrocnemius-semimembranosus bursa, which has communication with the joint, (2) rupture of the posterior articular capsule and its transformation to a cyst in a chronic course, and (3) herniation of the posterior articular capsule due to a chronic increase in the intraarticular pressure. In our patients, none had a clear episode Fig.…”