Patella: |
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- Sesamoid bone in the quadriceps tendon
- Articulates with femur by two surfaces separated
by a crest.
- Lateral surface larger than medial
- Due to the oblique pull of quadriceps, it tends to
be drawn laterally.
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Stability of patella: |
- Horizontally oriented fibres
of the vastus medialis
- Tension of the medial patellar retinaculum
- Forward prominence of lateral femoral condyle.
- Ligamentum patellae
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| Functions of the patella: |
- Stabilize and protect the knee joint anteriorly
- Align the pull of quadriceps into a straight extensor
pull
.
- Increase mechanical advantage of the quadriceps
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Applied anatomy
of patella: |
- Patella ossifies from two centres. The segments may
not fuse. This gives rise to a bipartite patella, which may be confused
for fracture.
- Patella when fractured into two fragments, they may
be screwed together. When broken into many fragments, they may be
removed.
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