Tibiofemoral joint

In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the human body. The knee is a modified hinge joint, which permits flexion and extension as well as slight internal and external rotation. The knee is vulnerable to injury and to the development of osteoarthritis.Hip-knee-ankle angle by age, with 95% prediction interval.Real-time MRI- KneeKnee MRKnee MRKnee X-rayKnee X-ray (Front)Cruciate ligamentsLeft knee-joint from behind, showing interior ligaments.Capsule of right knee-joint (distended). Lateral aspect.Anterior and lateral view of knee.Anterior view of knee. In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the human body. The knee is a modified hinge joint, which permits flexion and extension as well as slight internal and external rotation. The knee is vulnerable to injury and to the development of osteoarthritis. It is often termed a compound joint having tibiofemoral and patellofemoral components. (The fibular collateral ligament is often considered with tibiofemoral components.) The knee is a modified hinge joint, a type of synovial joint, which is composed of three functional compartments: the patellofemoral articulation, consisting of the patella, or 'kneecap', and the patellar groove on the front of the femur through which it slides; and the medial and lateral tibiofemoral articulations linking the femur, or thigh bone, with the tibia, the main bone of the lower leg. The joint is bathed in synovial fluid which is contained inside the synovial membrane called the joint capsule. The posterolateral corner of the knee is an area that has recently been the subject of renewed scrutiny and research. The knee is the largest joint and one of the most important joints in the body. It plays an essential role in movement related to carrying the body weight in horizontal (running and walking) and vertical (jumping) directions. At birth, the kneecap is just formed from cartilage, and this will ossify (change to bone) between the ages of three and five years. Because it is the largest sesamoid bone in the human body, the ossification process takes significantly longer. The main articular bodies of the femur are its lateral and medial condyles. These diverge slightly distally and posteriorly, with the lateral condyle being wider in front than at the back while the medial condyle is of more constant width. The radius of the condyles' curvature in the sagittal plane becomes smaller toward the back. This diminishing radius produces a series of involute midpoints (i.e. located on a spiral). The resulting series of transverse axes permit the sliding and rolling motion in the flexing knee while ensuring the collateral ligaments are sufficiently lax to permit the rotation associated with the curvature of the medial condyle about a vertical axis. The pair of tibial condyles are separated by the intercondylar eminence composed of a lateral and a medial tubercle. The patella also serves an articular body, and its posterior surface is referred to as the trochlea of the knee. It is inserted into the thin anterior wall of the joint capsule. On its posterior surface is a lateral and a medial articular surface, both of which communicate with the patellar surface which unites the two femoral condyles on the anterior side of the bone's distal end. The articular capsule has a synovial and a fibrous membrane separated by fatty deposits. Anteriorly, the synovial membrane is attached on the margin of the cartilage both on the femur and the tibia, but on the femur, the suprapatellar bursa or recess extends the joint space proximally. The suprapatellar bursa is prevented from being pinched during extension by the articularis genus muscle. Behind, the synovial membrane is attached to the margins of the two femoral condyles which produces two extensions similar to the anterior recess. Between these two extensions, the synovial membrane passes in front of the two cruciate ligaments at the center of the joint, thus forming a pocket direct inward.