Patellar
| Patella | |
|---|---|
Right knee
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| Details | |
| Origins | present at the joint of femur and tibia fibula |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | patella |
| MeSH | A02.835.232.043.650.624 |
| TA | A02.5.05.001 |
| FMA | 24485 |
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Anatomical terms of bone
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The patella (/pəˈtɛlə/), also known as the kneecap, is a thick, circular-triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as mice, cats and birds, but not in whales, or most reptiles.
In humans, the patella is the largest sesamoid bone in the body. Babies are born with a patella of soft cartilage which begins to ossify into bone at about three years of age.
The patella is a sesamoid bone roughly triangular in shape, with the apex of the patella facing downwards. The apex is the most inferior (lowest) part of the patella. It is pointed in shape, and gives attachment to the patellar ligament.
The front and back surfaces are joined by a thin margin and towards centre by a thicker margin. The tendon of the quadriceps femoris muscle attaches to the base of the patella., with the vastus intermedius muscle attaching to the base itself, and the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis are attached to outer lateral and medial borders of patella respectively.
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