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 The patella, 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 m ...

Pathology

Prepatellar bursitis Prepatellar bursitis is an inflammation of the prepatellar bursa at the front of the knee. It is marked by swelling at the knee, which can be tender to the touch and which generally does not restrict the knee's range of motion. It can be extreme ...

, 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 Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

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 Erythema (from the Greek , meaning red) is redness of the skin or mucous membranes, caused by hyperemia (increased blood flow) in superficial capillaries. It occurs with any skin injury, infection, or inflammation. Examples of erythema not assoc ...

, 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 Crepitus is "a grating sound or sensation produced by friction between bone and cartilage or the fractured parts of a bone". Various types of crepitus that can be heard in joint pathologies are: *Bone crepitus: This can be heard when two fragme ...

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