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hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella

hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella

The knee.

The knee.

The knee.

The articulation of the leg with the thigh ;-the Femoro-tibial or knee-joint, the knee. It is the most complicated in the body, and is formed by the inferior extremity of the femur, the superior extremity of the tibia, and the rotula. The articular surfaces of the bones are covered by layers of cartilage- more or less thick- and by the synovial membrane of the articulation. The soft parts of this joint are,-the ligamentum patellae, two lateral ligaments, distinguished by the names internal and external; a posterior ligament, Ligamentum posticum Winslowii; two crucial ligaments, -the one anterior, and the other posterior; two interarticular fibro-cartilages; some albugineous fibres, which form an imperfect capsule. The knee receives its arteries from the femoral and popliteal. They bear the name articular. Its veins have the same distribution as the arteries, and discharge their blood into the saphena and crural. Its nerves are furnished by the sciatic, popliteal, and crural. The joint is protected by the tendons and muscles which surround it. The French use the term Articulation en genou for a joint, in which the head of a bone is received into a bony cavity of another, where it rolls and moves in all directions.

The knee; articulation of femur with leg-bones.

See knee.