Structure
The infrapatellar fat pad of the knee is an intracapsular, extrasynovial adipose tissue that is situated below the patella, behind the patellar tendon. It is highly vascularized and richly innervated (predominantly by the posterior tibial nerve) and, therefore, impingement of the pad is a potential source of nociception (pain) in the anterior knee.
Related parts of the anatomy
Anatomical Relations
The infrapatellar fat pad is bounded:
—superiorly by the inferior pole of the patella;
—inferiorly by the anterior surface of the tibia and infrapatellar bursae;
—anteriorly by the patellar tendon and the fibrous layer of the joint capsule;
—posteriorly by the femoral condyles, intercondylar notch and the overlying synovial membrane (Mace, Bhatti and Anand, 2016).
Function
The infrapatellar fat pad helps to stabilize the patella and the patellar ligament and prevents pinching of the synovial membrane.
List of Clinical Correlates
—Fat pad syndrome (Hoffa’s syndrome or fat pad impingement)
References
Mace, J., Bhatti, W. and Anand, S. (2016) 'Infrapatellar fat pad syndrome: a review of anatomy, function, treatment and dynamics', Acta Orthop Belg, 82(1), pp. 94-101.
