Essential knee terminology
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- Debridement search for term
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Debridement means surgically removing excess or damaged soft tissue within the knee joint piece by piece.
- Deceleration injury search for term
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Athletes need to be trained to avoid ligament and meniscus injuries of their knee during decelerating and stopping an exercise.
- Deep peroneal nerve search for term
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The deep peroneal nerve is the deep branch of the common peroneal nerve.
Page updated February 2024 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor) - Deep vein thrombosis search for term
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Deep vein thrombosis is a serious condition in which a clot occurs in the deep veins of the leg.
- Degenerate meniscus search for term
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With age and repeated minor traumas a knee meniscus may degenerate and much of its shock-absorbing function may be lost.
- DeLee osteotomy search for term
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DeLee osteotomy is a surgical procedure to improve the position of the patella when it has become too low.
- DeNovo NT search for term
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DeNovo NT is a scaffold-free proprietory minced cartilage ('Natural Allograft Tissue') in a fluid suspension, sold for repairing cartilage defects.
- Diagnostic arthroscopy search for term
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Diagnostic arthroscopy is the keyhole examination of the inside of the knee without actually performing any surgical procedures.
- Dial test search for term
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The dial test is a test for the integrity of the posterolateral corner.
- Disability search for term
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A disability is a physical or mental impairment that prevents a person from achieving full potential.
- Discoid meniscus search for term
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A discoid meniscus is an unusual variant of the meniscus shock absorber of the knee, and is wider than the normal crescentic shape.
Page updated September 2023 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor) - Dislocation of the knee search for term
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A dislocation of the knee is a serious injury where most or all of the ligaments of the knee become disrupted and the thighbone (femur) dislocates from the shinbone (tibia).
- Dislocation of the patella search for term
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Dislocation of the patella is when the kneecap (patella) comes right out of the groove in the thighbone (femoral groove) in which it normally rides.
Page updated July 2023 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor) - Distal search for term
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Distal is a positional word, meaning the lower end of a structure such as a bone.
- Distal femoral osteotomy search for term
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A distal femoral osteotomy is a surgical procedure to cut and realign the lower end of the femur bone, in order to change the forces going through the one side of the joint.
- Distal realignment search for term
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Distal realignment procedures are those surgical procedures performed below the kneecap in an attempt to better align it in the groove of the underlying femur bone.
Page updated january 2024 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor) - Distalisation of tibial tubercle search for term
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The surgical procedure of distalisation of the tibial tubercle involves cutting the bony tibial tubercle below the kneecap and fixing it in a lower position.
Page updated July 2023 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor) - Donor meniscus search for term
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A donor meniscus is knee meniscus donated for transplant from a deceased person.
- Donut brace search for term
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A donut brace is a knee brace with a hole cut out of the centre to accommodate the kneecap.
- Dorsum search for term
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The dorsum of a structure is the back of that structure.
- Double varus search for term
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Double varus is bow legs (varus deformity) are accompanied by demonstrable lateral collateral ligament damage laxity, with lateral joint opening.
- Double-bundle ACL graft search for term
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A double-bundle graft in ACL surgery uses two bundles of graft material instead of one, to try to mimic the normal ligament.
- Double-level osteotomy search for term
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A double-level osteotomy involves a high tibial osteotomy and a distal femoral osteotomy in the same procedure in patients who have marked alignment problems.
Page updated January 2024 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor) - Drive-through sign search for term
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The drive-through sign is when the arthroscopic surgeon during the arthroscopy sees an abnormally big space at the back of the knee joint on the lateral side.
- Drop-out cast search for term
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A drop-out cast is an inexpensive splint for improving knee extension.
Page updated March 2024 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor) - DVT search for term
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DVT is an abbreviation for deep vein thrombosis.
- Dysplasia search for term
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Dysplasia means 'abnormal shape' so that a dysplastic body part is one that is abnormal in shape
- Dysplastic search for term
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Dysplastic means abnormal in shape, usually implying that one is born with this issue.
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