A Patient's Guide to Knee Anatomy
Introduction
To better understand how knee problems
occur, it is important to understand some of
the anatomy of the knee joint and how the
parts of the knee work together to maintain
normal function.
First, we will define some common
anatomic terms as they relate to the knee.
This will make it clearer as we talk about
the structures later.
Many parts of the body have duplicates.
So it is common to describe parts of the
body using terms that define where the
part is in relation to an imaginary line
drawn through the middle of the body.
For example, medial means closer to the
midline. So the medial side of the knee is
the side that is closest to the other knee.
The lateral side of the knee is the side that
is away from the other knee. Structures on
the medial side usually have medial as part
of their name, such as the medial meniscus.
The term anterior refers to the front of the
knee, while the term posterior refers to the
back of the knee. So the anterior cruciate
ligament is in front of the posterior cruciate
ligament.
This guide will help you understand
• what parts make up the knee
• how the parts of the knee work
Important Structures
The important parts of the knee include
• bones and joints
• ligaments and tendons
• muscles
• nerves
• blood vessels
Bones and Joints
The knee is the meeting place of two impor-
tant bones in the leg, the femur (the thighbone)
and the tibia (the shinbone). The patella (or
kneecap, as it is commonly called) is made of
bone and sits in front of the knee.
The knee joint is a synovial joint. Synovial
joints are enclosed by a ligament capsule and
contain a fluid, called synovial fluid, that lubri-
cates the joint.
The end of the femur joins the top of the tibia
to create the knee joint. Two round knobs
called femoral condyles are found on the end
of the femur. These condyles rest on the top
