Infrapatellar fat pad
Latin	corpus adiposum infrapatellare

The infrapatellar fat pad, also known as Hoffa's fat pad, is a cylindrical piece of fat that is situated under and behind the patella bone within the knee.

[edit] Potential Problems

The fat pad is a normal structure but it can sometimes become a problem:

-It can become damaged and painful
-It can be deliberately removed at arthroscopic surgery to make it easier for the surgeon to see what he is doing - but this can also lead to scarring and pain.
-It can get very big (hypertrophy) and may become nipped (’impingement’) between the patella and the femoral condyle , causing sharp pain when the leg is extended.
-It can become involved in the process of arthrofibrosis and become scarred (fibrotic) and contracted, pulling the patella down into an abnormally low position.

[edit] Sources

• The KNEEguru - educational site packed with knee content with sections on the infrapatellar fat pad

v • d • e Joints and ligaments of lower limbs (TA A03.6, GA 3.333) Coxal/hip femoral (iliofemoral, pubofemoral, ischiofemoral) · head of femur · transverse acetabular  · acetabular labrum · capsule · zona orbicularis Knee-joint Capsule · Anterior meniscofemoral ligament · Posterior meniscofemoral ligament extracapsular: patellar · popliteal (oblique, arcuate) · collateral (medial/tibial, fibular/lateral) intracapsular: cruciate (anterior, posterior) · menisci (medial, lateral) · transverse Infrapatellar fat pad Tibiofibular Superior tibiofibular anterior of the head of the fibula · posterior of the head of the fibula Inferior tibiofibular anterior of the lateral malleolus · posterior of the lateral malleolus other Interosseous membrane of leg Joints of foot Talocrural/ankle medial: medial of talocrural joint/deltoid (anterior tibiotalar, posterior tibiotalar, tibiocalcaneal, tibionavicular) lateral: lateral collateral of ankle joint (anterior talofibular, posterior talofibular, calcaneofibular) Subtalar/talocalcaneal anterior/posterior · lateral/medial · interosseous Transverse tarsal Talocalcaneonavicular dorsal talonavicular · plantar calcaneonavicular/spring · bifurcated (calcaneonavicular) Calcaneocuboid dorsal calcaneocuboid · long plantar · plantar calcaneocuboid · bifurcated (calcaneocuboid) Distal intertarsal Cuneonavicular plantar · dorsal Cuboideonavicular plantar · dorsal Intercuneiform plantar · dorsal · interosseous Other Tarsometatarsal/Lisfranc plantar · dorsal Intermetatarsal/metatarsal plantar · dorsal · interosseous · superficial transverse · deep transverse Metatarsophalangeal plantar · collateral Interphalangeal plantar · collateral Arches Longitudinal · Transverse

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