The Knee Joint

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The knee is the largest synovial joint (the most common and moveable type of joint) in the human body. It allows extension and flexion as well as slight medial and lateral rotation when the knee is flexed. The knee is also the most injured joint in the body as it is responsible for most of the weight bearing of the body. When we walk, our knees support 1.5 times our body weight; climbing stairs is about 3-4 times our body weight and squatting about 8 times. The knee is also responsible for providing flexibility that allows movement like walking, running, and climbing. The knee is where the inferior end of the femur articulate, or meets, with the tibia. At the end of the femur are the femoral medial and lateral condyles (prominences at the end of a bone that articulates with another bone). The medial condyle is larger than the lateral condyle as it bears more weight. These femoral condyles rest on the top of the near flat condyles of the tibia called the tibial plateau. The patella (knee cap) is the largest sesamoid bone (which means that it sits in the middle of tendon) in the body formed within the tendon of the quadriceps and is located in front of the knee and articulates with the inferior end of the femur on the groove made by the femoral condyles; this is called the femoral groove. At birth, the patella is still cartilage. By the time a child is between 3-5 years old, the cartilage ossifies into bone. There are two types of cartilage (a firm but flexible type of connective tissue) in the knee: hyaline and fibrous cartilage. The knee’s articular surface is covered in hyaline cartilage (also known as articular cartilage). The hyaline cartilage in the knee covers the inferior end of the femur, the top of the tibia and the posterior the patella. The hyaline cartilage is covered in viscous fluid called synovial fluid, which allows the surfaces of the bones to
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