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The interactive dog atlas · Skeleton · Hindlimb

Patella (kneecap) patella

The patella is a small bone in front of the stifle, held in the tendon of the quadriceps muscle. It slides in a groove of the femur when the stifle flexes and extends.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Skeleton Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
  1. Patella (kneecap)
  2. Femur
  3. Tibia
Patella (kneecap) on the atlas drawing, "Skeleton" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

In front of the stifle, in the tendon of the quadriceps muscle.

System
Hindlimb
Region
Hindlimb

What it is and what it does

The patella is a small bone in front of the stifle, held in the tendon of the quadriceps. It slides in a groove of the femur when the stifle flexes and extends. The femoropatellar joint is, together with the femorotibial joint, what we call the stifle or knee; you can feel the patella and its ligament under the skin.

Worth remembering

You can feel the patella and its ligament under the skin, in front of the stifle.

Names

  • Also called: kneecap.
  • Latin term: patella.
  • In Romanian: Patela (rotula) (Romanian page).

Guides it appears in

From the same region: Hindlimb

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: skeleton