Abstract: Two different methods were used to examine the biomechanical properties of the anterior cruciate ligament and the central one third patellar tendon. The patients'mean age was 26.The speimens were divided into two groups of four pairs each at random. The results showed that ACLpossessed the strength above 2000 N, the 10 mm wide central one third patellar tendon had the strength that was significantly higher than that of ACL. The relative orientation of the specimens to the line of tensile load affected the results. The authors believe that the results gained under anatomical orientation are more close to the real characteristics of the ACL.

Key words: knee joint ligament, patellar tendon, strength