Knee, artificial
Total knee replacement, a surgical procedure in which damaged parts of the knee joint are replaced with artifical parts.
The surgery is done by separating the muscles and ligaments around the knee to expose the inside of the joint. The ends of the thigh bone (femur) and the shin bone (tibia) are removed as is often the underside of the kneecap (patella). The artificial parts are then cemented into place.
The new knee typically has a metal shell on the end of the femur, a metal and plastic trough on the tibia, and sometimes a plastic button in the kneecap.
Total knee replacement may be done on people, usually over 55, whose knees have been damaged by arthritis, trauma, or other destructive diseases of the joint resulting in severe limiting knee pain and significant stiffness, instability (constant giving way) and deformity (lock-knees or bowlegs) of the knee.
Read Also:
- Knee, secretary's
The patellofemoral syndrome (PFS), the commonest cause of chronic knee pain. PFS characteristically causes vague discomfort of the inner knee area, aggravated by activity (running, jumping, climbing or descending stairs) or by prolonged sitting with knees in a moderately bent position (the so-called “theater sign” of pain upon arising from a desk or theater seat). […]
- Kneecap
The patella, the small bone in the front of the knee. The patella is a little (sesamoid) bone, embedded in the tendon of insertion of the quadriceps muscle. If the patella is shattered beyond repair, it can be removed in an operation called a patellectomy and sometimes replaced with prosthetic material.
- Knock-knees
An abnormal curve of the legs that causes the knees to touch or nearly touch while the feet are apart. The problem may arise in the bone structure, or it may develop gradually as a result of muscle abnormalities. Knock-knees can cause movement difficulties, muscle and bone strain, and pain due to overstress on the […]
- Knockout
Inactivation of specific genes. Knockouts are often created in laboratory organisms such as yeast or mice so that scientists can study the knockout organism as a model for a particular disease.
- Knockout mouse
A mouse missing a single gene (that has been knocked out). Knockout mice are used in biomedical research.