Proximal Tibiofibular Joint

Description

Illustration of the proximo tibiofibular joint

Normal anatomy of the proximal tibiofibular joint

Fibular head osteochondroma in 27-year-old woman with lateral knee swelling for 5 months

Name

• Proximal TibFib Joint
• Proximal Tibiofibular Joint
• Superior tibiofibular joint

General

• Formed by an articulation of the head of the fibula, lateral tibial plateau
• Synovial type joint where the bones glide over each other to create movement
• Communicates with the Knee Joint in 10% of adults
  • Communication in up to 64% of patients has been reported in MR Arthrography
  • For this reason, sometimes called the "fourth compartment of the knee"

Supporting Structures

• Lined with hyaline cartilage, contained within a joint capsule
• Additional Support from:
  • Tibiofibular Ligaments (both anterosuperior and posterosuperior)
  • Biceps Femoris
  • Lateral Collateral Ligament

Vascular Supply

• Inferior genicular arteries
• Anterior tibial recurrent arteries

Innervation

• Common Fibular Nerve
• Nerve to the Popliteus

Function

• Diminish torque stress at the ankle joint
• Allows slight gliding movements in a superior-inferior direction and only for a few degrees

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Clinical Significance

• Proximal Tibiofibular Joint Injection
• Osteoarthritis
• Neoplasm
• Trauma
• Posterolateral Corner Injury
• Ganglion Cyst
• Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis

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See Also

• Knee Anatomy (Main)
• Leg Anatomy (Main)

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