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Schematic representation of patellar tendon reflex (knee jerk) pathway. The patellar reflex, also called the knee reflex or knee-jerk, is a stretch reflex which tests the L2, L3, and L4 segments of the spinal cord. Many animals, most significantly humans, have been seen to have the patellar reflex, including dogs, cats, horses, and other ...
In anatomy, extension is a movement of a joint that increases the angle between two bones or body surfaces at a joint. Extension usually results in straightening of the bones or body surfaces involved. For example, extension is produced by extending the flexed (bent) elbow. Straightening of the arm would require extension at the elbow joint.
Genu recurvatum is a deformity in the knee joint, so that the knee bends backwards. In this deformity, excessive extension occurs in the tibiofemoral joint. Genu recurvatum is also called knee hyperextension and back knee. This deformity is more common in women [citation needed] and people with familial ligamentous laxity. [2]
To test the reflex, the muscle should be in a neutral position. The muscle being tested needs to be flexed for the clinician to locate the tendon. After the muscle is relaxed, the clinician strikes the tendon. The response should be contraction of the muscle. If this is the knee jerk reflex, the clinician should observe a kick.
At the same time, signals travel up the spinal cord and cause contraction of the contralateral muscles of the hip and abdomen to shift the body’s center of gravity over the extended leg. To a large extent, the coordination of all these muscles and maintenance of equilibrium is mediated by the cerebellum and cerebral cortex. [5]
The quadriceps femoris muscle (/ ˈ k w ɒ d r ɪ s ɛ p s ˈ f ɛ m ər ɪ s /, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large fleshy mass which covers the front and sides of the femur.
The primary functional role of the patella is knee extension. The patella increases the leverage that the quadriceps tendon can exert on the femur by increasing the angle at which it acts. The patella is attached to the tendon of the quadriceps femoris muscle, which contracts to extend/straighten the knee.
The knee is a modified hinge joint, a type of synovial joint, which is composed of three functional compartments: the patellofemoral articulation, consisting of the patella, or "kneecap", and the patellar groove on the front of the femur through which it slides; and the medial and lateral tibiofemoral articulations linking the femur, or thigh bone, with the tibia, the main bone of the lower ...