Knee Joint: Model, Picture and Illustration
Our knee is basically a joint which consists of three compartments. The thigh bone medically known as femur joins with our large shin bone medically known as tibia hence constructing our main knee joint. From there the knee joint consists of inner and outer parts respectively known as medial and lateral compartments. Once you have constructed all the parts to this point, picture the kneecap medically termed as patella that connects our thigh bone to shape the third part called the patellofemoral joint.
Our knee joint is encapsulated by a joint capsule which is tied by ligaments inside and outside. These ligaments are known as collateral ligaments and they intersect inside the joint providing balance, stability and strength to our knee joint.
There’s a thick gel like cartilage pad medically known as meniscus that sits between the two joints formed by our thigh bone and the large shin bone. This cartilage pad smoothes the joints’ surface when we walk or move around and also takes the load of our body above our knees when standing.
Our knee joint is enclosed by sacs filled with fluid medically known as bursae. They provide sliding surfaces for our tendons in order to lower the force of friction produced when we move around. Think of the knee as a weight-balancing joint, its cartilage pads make sure that the load is even and providing joint fluid to keep our joints lubricated.
As we move below the kneecap there is a long tendon known as patellar tendon, its purpose is to connect the front of the tibia bone. It’s surrounded by large blood vessels that go through the area behind our knee. What moves our knees are the large muscles known as quadriceps that are located in the front of the thigh and the hamstring muscles that are in the back of the thigh. Our knee can also rotate with the help of special muscles of our thighs.
So you can imagine at this point how complex the nature of our knee joint. It’s so critical to our normal walking that our knees have to flex to the point of 135 degrees and extend all the way to 0 degrees.