A fabella is a little bone which sometimes forms at the back of the knee, within the tendon of the gastrocnemius muscle, like a tiny kneecap at the back of the knee.
The arrow shows the fabella.
The fabella is a normal anatomical variant
The fabella is a normal variant in 10-20% of people. The little bone is often wrongly diagnosed by the inexperienced doctor as a 'loose body' or even a 'foreign body' inside the knee. However, in rare cases the fabella causes posterolateral knee pain and surgeons may choose to excise it.
What is fabella pain syndrome?
In fabella pain syndrome the patient complains of posterolateral knee pain which is worse when the leg is fully extended.
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