page_title: Knee
section_title: Common injuries due to physical activity
hierarchical_section_title: Knee / Clinical significance / Common injuries due to physical activity
context_page_description: In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body. The knee is a modified hinge joint, which permits flexion and extension as well as slight internal and external rotation. The knee is vulnerable to injury and to the development of osteoarthritis.
  It is often termed a compound joint having tibiofemoral and patellofemoral components.
context_section_description: In sports that place great pressure on the knees, especially with twisting forces, it is common to tear one or more ligaments or cartilages. Some of the most common knee injuries are those to the medial side: medial knee injuries.
caption: Model demonstrating parts of an artificial knee
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2006:12:21 17:08:16", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "178", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4534", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9692", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/20", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:12:21 17:08:16", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:12:21 17:08:16", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "35/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "85", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4368", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2912", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "4410", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "873600/283", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1456000/471", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}