Fabella

Last revised by Daniel J Bell ◉ on 28 Jun 2023

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Knipe H, Bell D, Liew G, et al. Fabella. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 18 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-22122

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-22122

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/22122?embed_domain=external.radpair.com%25252527%2525255B0%2525255D%25252527%2525255B0%2525255Dfavicon.icofavicon.ico

rID:

22122

Article created:

13 Mar 2013, Henry Knipe ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Henry Knipe had no recorded disclosures.

View Henry Knipe's current disclosures

Last revised:

28 Jun 2023, Daniel J Bell ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Daniel J Bell had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.

View Daniel J Bell's current disclosures

Revisions:

23 times, by 15 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Musculoskeletal

Sections:

Anatomy

Tags:

anatomy, knee, normal variant, ossicle

Synonyms:

Os fabella
Fabellae

The fabella (plural fabellae ⁵) is an accessory ossicle that is almost always found in the lateral head of the gastrocnemius although rarely it can occur in the medial head of gastrocnemius ⁴. It occurs in ~20% (range 10-30%) of the population ¹.

The fabella can also be fibrocartilaginous in nature and is occasionally found in the medial head of the gastrocnemius. The fabella articulates with its respective (medial or lateral) femoral condyle.