Presentation
Right knee pain with no prior history of trauma or previous injury.
Patient Data
Age: 40 years
Gender: Male
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The right patella appears as three well-corticated fragments, denoting tripartite patella, which is a normal variant.
Case Discussion
A tripartite patella is an uncommon anatomical variant in which the patella is divided into three separate bone segments. This condition is considered a type of multipartite patella, which may have two or more ossification centers instead of forming as a singular sesamoid bone.
The exact cause of tripartite patella is unknown, but it is thought to result from the failure of ossification centers to fuse during development. There may also be a genetic predisposition, as familial cases have been observed.
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