Osborne’s ligament: a cadaveric study and literature review

Abstract

First described in 1957 by Dr Geoffrey Osborne, the Osborne ligament is defined as a band of tissue that connects the two heads of the flexor carpi ulnaris, which forms the roof of the cubital tunnel, between the medial epicondyle and the olecranon. We retrieved data from 16 elbows of 8 cadavers, measuring the length of the Osborne’s ligament in both maximum extension and in 90º flexion. Using this data, we managed to compare the differences between the left and right arm and also between male and female specimens. Our goal was to find statistically significant differences between the variables: males vs females; right vs left elbow; flexion vs extension. To our knowledge, no prior study has compared the length of this ligament between both elbows.