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Position of the fabella relative to the path of the common peroneal nerve across the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle
Author(s) -
Chihlas Christopher N.,
Ladocsi Lewis T.,
Sholley Milton M.,
Loughran Thomas P.,
Krieg Richard J.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
clinical anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1098-2353
pISSN - 0897-3806
DOI - 10.1002/ca.980060306
Subject(s) - sesamoid bone , medicine , common peroneal nerve , anatomy , dissection (medical) , gastrocnemius muscle , head (geology) , compression (physics) , surgery , radiography , skeletal muscle , biology , paleontology , materials science , composite material
The fabella is an inconstant sesamoid bone located in the origin of the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle. The presence of a fabella has been associated with a number of pathologies including compression injury of the common peroneal nerve (CPN) as it crosses the lateral head of the gastrocnemius. This study was designed to determine the incidence of fabellae and the geometric relationship of the fabella to the CPN using anatomical dissection. In the 78 specimens examined, the incidence of fabellae was 27%, a figure near the high end of the previously reported range. To our knowledge, the geometric relationship of the fabella to the CPN has not previously been reported. Using measurements taken during dissection of fabellae, the zone of potential locations of the fabella overlapped 26.0% of the length of the CPN across the lateral head of the gastroenemius. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.