Joint · Knee

Tibiofemoral joint

Articulatio genus

The knee — the largest and most complex synovial joint in the body, where the rounded condyles of the femur sit on the nearly flat top of the tibia. Two crescent-shaped menisci deepen that surface and spread load across it. Because the shapes do not fit together well, this joint depends almost entirely on soft tissue for its stability: the cruciate ligaments inside, the collateral ligaments at the sides, and the muscles crossing it. It is a hinge with a twist — it rotates slightly as it straightens, and locks.