Knee bursitis 

is inflammation or irritation of one or more of the bursae in your knee. Knee

bursitis is inflammation of a small fluid-filled sac (bursa) situated near
your knee joint. Bursae reduce friction and cushion pressure points between your bones and
the tendons, muscles and skin near your joints.

Bursae. There are up to 13 bursa of various sizes in and around the knee. These fluid filled
sacs cushion the joint and reduce friction between muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments

What is the purpose of the bursa in the knee?

A bursa is a fluid-filled structure that is present between the skin and tendon or tendon
and bone. The main function of a bursa is to reduce friction between adjacent moving
structures.

What is the function of a bursa in a synovial joint?

Synovial bursae provide a gliding surface and a cushion for soft tissues as they pass
over skeletal prominences and are found over bone and under muscle, tendon,
ligament, fascia, or skin.

What are the three types of bursae?

Bursae come in three packages: synovial, subcutaneous, and adventitious

Bursae

The knee joint is surrounded by numerous bursae. The largest is the suprapatellar

bursa, or quadri-ceps bursa, an extension of the joint capsule that al-lows
movement of the thigh muscles over the lower end of the femur. Subcutaneous
bursae—the subcu-taneous or superficial prepatellar and infrapatel-lar
bursa and the deep infrapatellar bursa—sur-round the patella. A large fat pad,
the infrapatellar fat pad, exists deep to the patella tendon. The fat pad is lined on
the deep surface by synovial membrane and is thought to help lubricate the joint as
it deforms during flexion and extension of the knee.

In addition to the above, bursae exist in the popliteal fossa—popliteal bursa—and

near the gas-trocnemius—the gastrocnemius bursa. The semi-membranous
bursa,which lies deep to the semi-membranosus tendon and the medial origin of
the gastrocnemius muscle, often communicates with the joint. Other bursae may
exist between the pes anser-inus and the iliotibial band.

Muscles

Muscles that flex the knee:

Hamstrings: semimembranosus, semitendinosus, biceps femoris

Muscle that extends the knee:

Primary extensor

Quadriceps

Muscles that rotate the knee medially: Semitendinosus Semimembranosus

Muscle that rotates the knee laterally: Biceps femoris

Possible Movements

The knee joint allows flexion (with an associated glide), extension (with an
associated glide), and in-ternal and external rotation. Active rotation of the knee
occurs only when the knee is flexed.

Range of Motion

Flexion, 135°

Extension, 0°

Internal rotation, 10°

External rotation, 10°

What is the anterior posterior drawer test?

If the tibia pulls forward or backward more than normal, the test is considered positive.
Excessive displacement of the tibia anteriorly suggests that the ACL is injured, whereas
excessive posterior displacement of the tibia may indicate injury of
the posterior cruciate ligament.

Symptoms[edit]
 Pain in affected knee
 Stiffness and swelling in affected knee
 Catching or locking of the knee in affected knee
 Instability of the knee with twisting or side-to-side movements (The sensation of the knee
"giving out").
 Inability to move the knee through its full range of motion

Cause[edit]
The unhappy triad occurs due to a lateral blow to the knee causing a rupture in the anterior cruciate
ligament, medial collateral ligament, and meniscus. Injury is most often sustained when a lateral
(from the outside) force impacts the knee while the foot is fixed on the ground. The strong valgus or
rotary force to the knee tears the ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus all together. This type of injury
occurs often in contact sports such as football, rugby, or motocross. During the injury, the leg is
laterally rotated and over-abducted. In about 10% of cases, the force is applied to the opposite side
of the knee, and the lateral and posterolateral ligaments are torn.

Anatomy