Medical Terms for the Knee .

Medical Terms for the Knee

These are terms I found useful to understanding knee anatomy. I'm a novice on knee anatomy, so please excuse any errors (and let me know if you find any!).

Direction

medial -- near the middle of the body
lateral -- on the side, or away from the middle part of the body
anterior -- placed in the front
posterior -- placed in the back
ventral -- toward the belly of the body
dorsal -- toward the back of the body
sagittal -- imaginary line that divides the left and right sides of the body
caudad -- toward the tail or end of the body, away from the head
cephalad -- toward the head, away from the end or tail
inferior -- bwloew a point of reference
superior -- above a given point of reference
distal -- being the farthest from a point of origin, i.e. the center of the body
proximal -- being the nearest to a point of origin, i.e. the center of the body
anteroposterior -- from the front to the back of the body
eminence -- high point; as of the top part of the bone
axial -- refers to the center (axis) of a part of the body
coronal -- from the front
collateral -- secondary or accessory

Particular Bone

femur -- upper leg (thigh) bone
patella -- knee-cap
tibia -- lower leg large bone; second longest bone in skeleton;on medial side of leg; the shin bone
fibula -- lower leg smaller bone; parallels tibia

Bone Type

sesamoid bone -- small round bones buried in certain tendons that go through much stress and strain (the patella is the largest)

Fat Pad

fat pad -- a mass of fat that cushions many structures, as the fat pad of the patella
anterior suprapatellar fat pad
-- above the patella, right behind the quadriceps tendon
prefemoral fat pad -- above the patella, right in front of the femur

Bone location

intercondylar notch -- the area between the round lumps at the end of a bone (condyles)
condyle -- a rounded, knucklike bump at the end of a bone
cortical -- of the outside of the bone
cortex -- the outside of an organ (the outside of a bone)
tuberosity -- (of the tibia) a large oblong elevation at the end of the tibia that attaches to the ligament of the patella

Tissue

ligament -- tissue connecting bones and/or cartilage
tendon -- tissue connecting bones to muscles
cartilage -- tissue that connects and supports
retinacula -- a structure that holds tissue in place

Particular Tissue

meniscus -- a curved part of cartilcage in the knee
medial meniscus -- on the medial side of the knee
lateral meniscus -- on the lateral side of the knee
anterior cruciate ligament
-- normally fan shaped; attaches proximally at the internal aspect of the lateral femoral condyle, and runs distally to its broad attachment at the anterior tibia
posterior cruciate ligament
-- from medial femoral condyle to the posterior eminence of the tibia
anterior meniscofemural ligament of Humphrey
-- anterior to the PCL, attached to the bottom back of the femur to the posterior eminence of the tibia; it produces localized anterior thickening of the PCL
medial collateral ligament
-- structure of accessory ligaments on the medial side
lateral collateral ligament
-- structure of accessory ligaments on the lateral side
posterior femoral fibular ligament
quadriceps tendon -- joins quadriceps to (patella?)
patellotibial tendon -- joins patella to tibia
iliotibial band

Particular Muscle

quadriceps -- (quadriceps femoris) a groups of four muscles of the thigh that function to extend the leg

Around the knee

bursa -- a fiber sac around the joints between some tendons and the bones under them
suprapatellar bursa -- the bursa above the patella between the fat pads
popliteal space

Movement

patellar reflex -- (knee-jerk reflex, quadriceps reflex) a tendon reflex cuased by a sharp tap on the tendon just below the knee-cap (patella). The normal response is a quick upward jerk of the leg at the knee.

Other Terms

articular -- of the joint
edema -- abnormal ppoling of fluid in tissues (i.e. swelling)
effusion -- the escape of fluid from blook vessels because of break or leaking, usually into a body hollow; usually from a circulation or kidney disease
cruciate -- cross-shaped

Return to my home page.
Last Updated: August 29, 1996
Send suggestions or comments to Scott Basham