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Fibular collateral ligament: anatomy, location and function

The fibular collateral ligament, usually called the lateral collateral ligament (LCL), is the cord-like ligament on the outer side of the knee. It stabilises the hinge movement of the knee on its lateral side.

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Highlighted in the model: Fibular collateral ligament. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. Use Male / Female to switch bodies. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science; knee ligaments, menisci, tonsils, palate and parotid glands from the Human Reference Atlas Visible Human Male model and female parts from its Visible Human Female model (HuBMAP / NIH); lung lobes built from the BodyParts3D chest; all CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The default body is an adult male.

Fibular collateral ligament at a glance

Also called
Lateral collateral ligament (LCL)
What it is
The fibular collateral ligament, usually called the lateral collateral ligament (LCL), is the cord-like ligament on the outer side of the knee.
Location
It runs from the lateral epicondyle of the femur down to a depression on the lateral surface of the head of the fibula.
Function
It stabilises the hinge movement of the knee on its lateral side.
Body system
Skeletal · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA9660 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • It is thinner and rounder than the tibial collateral ligament.
  • Unlike the tibial collateral ligament, it is not attached to its meniscus, which is one reason the lateral meniscus is more mobile.

Structures next to the fibular collateral ligament

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Fibular collateral ligament (FMA9660). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. TeachMeAnatomy. The Knee Joint.
  3. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §7.1 Divisions of the Skeletal System. Rice University, 2022.
  4. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
  5. Browne K., Schlehlein H. (2026). 3D Reference Organ Set for Male, v1.10 (Visible Human Male). Human Reference Atlas 3D Reference Object Library, HuBMAP / NIH. CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.