Patella

Patella
Right knee
Details
Pronunciation	/pəˈtɛlə/
Origins	Present at the joint of femur and tibia fibula
Identifiers
Latin	patella
MeSH	D010329
TA98	A02.5.05.001
TA2	1390
FMA	24485
Anatomical terms of bone [edit on Wikidata]

The patella (pl.: patellae or patellas), also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as mice, cats, birds and dogs, but not in whales, or most reptiles.

In humans, the patella is the largest sesamoid bone (i.e., embedded within a tendon or a muscle) in the body. Babies are born with a patella of soft cartilage which begins to ossify into bone at about four years of age.