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Anatomic study of fabella and its surrounding structures in a Chinese population

  • Anatomic Bases of Medical, Radiological and Surgical Techniques
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Abstract

Purpose

To explore the anatomic features of the fabella and its relationship with the common peroneal nerve and the fabellofibular ligament, so as to provide anatomical evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment of fabella diseases in a Chinese population.

Methods

Sixty-one formalin-fixed knee specimens were obtained for anatomic dissection. Structural features of the fabella were investigated by radiological and histological tests.

Results

There were 53 cases (86.89%) with fabellae in the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle, including 34 bony ones (55.74%), whereas only 6 cases had fabellae in the medial head (9.84%). The fabellae were accompanied by common peroneal nerves on their surfaces in 11 cases (20.8%), and the presence of the fabella was not generally predictive of a fabellofibular ligament. As much as 57.9% of the cartilage fabellae were not visualized on radiograph. The structure of the ossified fabella is similar to a typical long bone.

Conclusions

Fabellae were mainly present in the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle in a large proportion of the Chinese population. More than half of the cartilage fabellae were not visualized on radiograph. Its clinical significance could not be ignored by physicians and anatomists.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Professor Zhang Huojun of Changhai Hospital in Shanghai for his help with radiograph investigation and instructor Guo Xiaojing of the Department of Statistics of the Second Military Medical University for her help with statistics analysis.

Conflict of interest

No benefits in any form have been received or will be received from a commercial party related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article. No funds were received in support of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Shu-Xiong Zeng, Xi-Le Dong, Rui-Shan Dang, Guo-Sheng Wu, Dong Wang, Hui-Long Huang & Xiao-Dan Guo

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Changhai Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Jia-Feng Wang

Authors
  1. Shu-Xiong Zeng
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  2. Xi-Le Dong
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  3. Rui-Shan Dang
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  4. Guo-Sheng Wu
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  5. Jia-Feng Wang
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  6. Dong Wang
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  7. Hui-Long Huang
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  8. Xiao-Dan Guo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rui-Shan Dang.

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Zeng, SX., Dong, XL., Dang, RS. et al. Anatomic study of fabella and its surrounding structures in a Chinese population. Surg Radiol Anat 34, 65–71 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-011-0828-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-011-0828-4

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