Inferior Knee
September 2023
Author: R. Conner Dixon, MD, CAQ-SM
Peer-Reviewer: Justine Ko, MD, CAQ-SM
Final Editor: Will Denq, MD, CAQ-SM
This image was captured by placing a linear probe in a cranial-caudal plane in the anterior aspect of the knee below the patella.
Image 1: Case courtesy of Maulik S Patel, Radiopaedia.org, rID: 86122, author’s own annotations
Image 2: Demonstration of the ultrasound technique for this case. Author's own image.
A patient comes in complaining of knee pain after stepping off a rock while hiking. She felt a pop and immediately fell, unable to put any weight on that leg. You obtain the following ultrasound image.
Case courtesy of Craig Hacking, Radiopaedia.org, rID: 64416
What are the major structures in this longitudinal inferior knee ultrasound and where is the pathology?
You can see the tendon disruption and retraction causing a defect in the patellar tendon fibers, as pointed out by the purple arrows.
Case courtesy of Craig Hacking, Radiopaedia.org, rID: 64416 (author’s own annotations)