Although the knee may look like a simple
joint, it is actually one of the more complex joints in the
body, and is the joint most likely to be injured at some
point in your life. The knee joint is made up of bones
(which support the knee and provide the rigid structure),
muscles (which actually move the joint), ligaments (which
hold the joint together and stabilise it), and cartilage
(which protects the joint and allows the bones to slide
freely on each other). The knee joint is formed by four
bones. The femur, which is the large bone in your thigh,
attaches by ligaments and a capsule to your tibia, or
shinbone. Just below and next to the tibia is the fibula,
which runs parallel to the tibia. The patella, or knee cap,
rides on the front of the knee joint as the knee
bends. When
the knee moves, it does not just bend (flex) and straighten
(extend), but also rotates about the inner (medial) side of
the joint - making for a very complex motion as it bends.
Problems can occur when any of these parts of the knee joint
are damaged by injury or disease.
Knee Surgery
Knee surgery is not new - there is evidence
which suggests that the ancient Egyptians operated on the
knee joint, but probably for traumatic injury, rather than for joint
diseases. Joint surgery on the knee really began in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and prosthetic knee
joint replacements appeared just after the end of the Second
World War. Total knee replacement is a surgical procedure in
which parts of the knee which have been injured or damaged
by disease (such as osteoarthritis) are replaced with
artificial parts.
