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Cartilages

(knee cartilages)

The 'semi-lunar cartilages' are the shock absorbers between the femur (thigh) bone and the tibia (shin) bone.

There is confusion in the medical terminology about the word ‘cartilage’, as patients use it one way and doctors another, and doctors create further confusion by using it ‘the patient way’ when talking to patients and ‘the doctor way’ when talking to doctors.

When doctors say to each other ‘cartilage’ they mean the gristle or shiny white surface at the ends of the long bones anywhere in the body. When patients use the term, they mean the shock absorber of the knee, which is sandwiched between the thighbone (femur) and the shinbone (tibia) - which should correctly be called the ‘meniscus’.

The preferred medical term is ‘meniscus’ although the older term ‘semi-lunar cartilages’ is still sometimes used.