Anatomy and malalignment of the patellofemoral joint: its relation to patellofemoral arthrosis.

Patellofemoral joint function involves a complex orchestration of a number of dynamic, static, and neuromuscular factors. I will discuss the components of patellofemoral anatomy and whether the presence of certain anatomic variables may increase the risk of patellofemoral arthrosis. The patellofemoral surgeon is faced with several clinical challenges: the semantics of the language used to discuss these problems, the correlation of clinical symptoms and radiographic imaging to help diagnose a problem, and surgical challenges in optimizing extensor mechanism function.