Normal knee radiograph on X‑ray: 6 real cases

Real, openly licensed radiographs showing normal knee radiograph. Study what to look for, then open each case and read it yourself before revealing the answer.

What to look for

  • The femur is centred on the tibia on both views and the patella sits at a normal height.
  • Both tibial plateaux are smooth, with no step, depression or split, and the joint spaces are similar.
  • No effusion or fat-fluid level in the suprapatellar recess on the lateral; a fabella behind the knee is a normal sesamoid.

Learn: Knee fractures

Quiz yourself on lower limb images

Cases

Radiograph from the case bank: Normal knee radiographCase #97701195Lower limb · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Normal knee radiographCase #139959249Lower limb · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Normal knee radiographCase #65289734Lower limb · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Normal knee radiographCase #65289732Lower limb · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Normal knee radiographCase #65289731Lower limb · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Normal knee radiographCase #138670513Lower limb · Beginner

Other lower limb diagnoses

Diagnoses come from each image's documented source. Credits and licences are shown on each case and on the image credits page.