The prepatellar bursa is a frontal bursa of the knee joint. It is a superficial

bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

with a thin synovial lining located between the skin and the patella.

Pathology

Prepatellar bursitis, also known as housemaid's knee, is a common cause of swelling and pain above the patella (kneecap), and is due to inflammation of the prepatellar bursa. It is common in people who frequently

kneel Kneeling is a basic human position where one or both knees touch the ground. Kneeling is defined as “to position the body so that one or both knees rest on the floor,” according to Merriam-Webster. Kneeling when only composed of one knee, an ...

, such as roofers, plumbers, carpet layers, and gardeners. It is also common in wrestlers due to the repeated impact on the knee when shooting.

Symptoms

Symptoms include knee pain, swelling, redness and inability to flex the knee on the affected side. Rest usually relieves symptoms. Physical exam reveals erythema, tenderness to touch, fluctuant

edema Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's Tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels t ...

over the lower pole of the patella and crepitus.

Treatment

General treatments consist of bursal aspiration, NSAIDs. For patients with high athletic or occupational demands, intrabursal steroid injection may be performed. Surgical treatment is restricted to severe cases.

References

Synovial bursae Lower limb anatomy Knee {{musculoskeletal-stub