knee
Enable an AI agent to recognise a knee, record its structural and functional state, and distinguish supported actions from actions requiring further assessment or authority.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 28 questions
Knee identity and boundaries Establish which knee is represented and which anatomical structures its records concern.
Person, limb, and side
Bind the knee to its anatomical owner and side.
Identified knee
Record the person, limb, and laterality, including unresolved or conflicting identification.
- Which person's knee is this, and what establishes its left or right side? definition
- Do examination notes, images, and procedure records agree on the knee's identity? provenance
Joint complex boundary
Separate the knee complex from individual components and neighbouring anatomy.
Anatomical coverage
Identify the articulations and local supporting structures covered by each observation.
- Does this observation concern the tibiofemoral articulation, patellofemoral articulation, supporting tissues, or an unlocalised knee region? definition
- Where should this record link to a neighbouring bone, tendon, joint, or limb model instead of extending the knee's ownership? boundary
Articulations and supporting tissues Represent the knee's articular surfaces, menisci, stabilising structures, and extensor mechanism.
Articular and meniscal condition
Localise observations to joint compartments, cartilage, and menisci.
Surface and meniscus findings
Record compartment-specific structural observations without assuming that an imaging finding explains symptoms.
- Which articular surface or meniscus is described, and what condition was observed? definition
- Which examination, imaging study, or procedure supports the observation, and when was it obtained? provenance
Stabilisers and extensor mechanism
Represent knee ligaments, capsule, and the structures involved in active extension.
Supporting tissue integrity
Record structure-specific integrity, prior repair or reconstruction, and the limits of available evidence.
- Which ligament, capsular structure, or extensor mechanism component is intact, altered, repaired, or uncertain? definition
- What evidence supports that assessment, and does it describe tissue appearance, mechanical function, or both? provenance
Motion, stability, and load Describe how the knee moves and behaves under specified assessment and activity conditions.
Range and stability assessment
Capture reproducible motion and stability observations.
Measured knee mechanics
Record flexion, extension, and assessed laxity with methods and conditions.
- What active and passive flexion and extension were measured, using which angle convention and position? measurement
- What directional stability assessments were performed, and what results, symptoms, or assessment limitations were recorded? measurement
Loaded task performance
Connect knee behaviour to activities and external support.
Activity-dependent capacity
Record performance during walking, stairs, chair rise, squatting, kneeling, or other relevant tasks.
- During which task, load, and assistance conditions were pain, giving way, catching, or movement limitation observed or reported? measurement
- Which task limitations are attributed to the knee, and which may involve the hip, ankle, balance, or another condition? boundary
Symptoms and state assessment Track local symptoms, examination signs, temporal changes, and the strength of proposed explanations.
Symptom location and course
Describe pain, swelling, stiffness, and mechanical symptoms over time.
Dated knee symptom pattern
Record onset, location, triggers, duration, and change while preserving the reporter's meaning.
- Where and when do pain, swelling, or stiffness occur, and how have they changed relative to an injury, procedure, or activity? measurement
- When someone reports locking or giving way, what precisely happened, and was it reported, witnessed, or reproduced during assessment? provenance
Evidence and clinical interpretation
Keep observed signs, investigation results, and clinical conclusions distinguishable.
Supported state judgement
Link any conclusion about the knee's state to dated evidence and explicitly retain unresolved explanations.
- Which local signs and investigation findings support the recorded interpretation, and who made that interpretation? provenance
- What remains unresolved about a local knee cause, a referred symptom, or a systemic contributor? boundary
Interventions and action constraints Connect prior knee interventions and current clinical instructions to proposed actions.
Altered anatomy and procedure history
Record procedures that changed the knee and link any implanted components.
Post-intervention configuration
Identify treated structures, procedure dates, and resulting anatomical changes without substituting a device record for the knee.
- Which knee structures were repaired, reconstructed, removed, or replaced, and on what dates? provenance
- Which details describe the anatomical knee, and which belong in linked procedure or implant records? boundary
Current permissions and review needs
Represent applicable restrictions, their authority, and conditions requiring further assessment.
Supported next action
Evaluate proposed knee-related actions against documented instructions, evidence gaps, and applicable review protocols.
- What current instructions govern weight bearing, knee motion, bracing, or activity, and who issued them for what period? action
- Does the proposed action require additional assessment or qualified review under the applicable protocol, given this knee's recorded condition? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of knee this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of knee this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of knee this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of knee this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of knee this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of knee this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of knee this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of knee this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.OBJ
- Other names and narrower kinds
- osteoarthritic knee, human female knees, right knee, left knee, stifle joint
What it is Filled
The knee is the anatomical region around the kneecap at the junction of the thigh and lower leg, encompassing the knee joint and surrounding skin, soft tissues and supporting structures.
In scope
- Left or right knee identity, anatomical boundaries and relationship to its person and limb are included.
- The kneecap and surrounding skin, subcutaneous tissues, bursae and other local soft tissues are included.
- Tibiofemoral and patellofemoral articulations and their local structural condition are included.
- Menisci, ligaments, capsule and the knee-related portions of the extensor mechanism are included.
- Knee movement, stability, loading and contribution to specific activities are included.
- Local symptoms, examination findings, investigations and changes over time are included.
- Knee-specific procedures, implants, restrictions and assessment needs are included.
Out of scope
- The person's complete health history and systemic disease models
- Hip, ankle, and whole-limb conditions beyond their recorded effects on the knee
- Complete models of the femur, tibia, fibula, muscles, nerves, or blood vessels
- Whole-person gait, athletic performance, and rehabilitation programme management
- Implant product specifications, manufacturing records, and device inventory
- Independent models of injuries or diseases that may affect multiple anatomical sites
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise a knee, record its structural and functional state, and distinguish supported actions from actions requiring further assessment or authority.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Locate the region around the kneecap at the junction of the thigh and lower leg, since a reference to the leg alone does not identify a knee.
- Determine whether a record concerns the knee region, the joint or only the patella, since neither the joint nor the patella alone constitutes the entire region.
- Distinguish surface tissues and surrounding soft tissues from the underlying articulations while retaining them within the same regional identity.
- Check whether 'knee pain' identifies only a reported symptom location or also establishes a local structural condition; the former does not establish the latter.
- Distinguish the anatomical knee from a knee replacement device; an implanted knee retains anatomical identity while relating to a separate device.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Diagnose ligament tears, fractures or arthritis in a specific person without a clinician.
- Advise continuing sport on a swollen, locked or unstable knee.
- Move or load a person's limb beyond what their care plan allows.
- Share a patient's imaging or records beyond their care team.
Only with a human decision
- Surgery, injection or other treatment decisions.
- Returning an injured athlete to play.
May
- Explain knee anatomy, common injuries and recovery from medical sources.
- Assist a person with exercises their physiotherapist has prescribed, at their request.
Moral aspects Filled
- Knee injuries can cause lifelong disability; rushed return to activity worsens them.
- Access to joint replacement and rehabilitation is unequal.
Who is affected
- Patients
- Athletes
- Older people
Owners Filled
Steward
The person themselves with their clinicians; nobody owns the anatomical structure.
Master systems
- Medical and imaging records
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q112826975 - registry parent class
- Q66516262 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.knee
- Wikidata: Q37425 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37425)
Direct properties required Filled
- Laterality: left | right | unresolved
- Anatomical configuration: Recorded native, altered, reconstructed, or replaced structures, with unknowns explicit
- Affected articulation or compartment: medial tibiofemoral | lateral tibiofemoral | patellofemoral | multiple | unlocalised
- Flexion and extension range: degrees, with angle convention, active or passive method, position, and date
- Stability assessment: Direction, named assessment, result or grade, examiner, and assessment conditions
- Pain pattern: Location, onset, duration, provoking activity, rest symptoms, and named severity scale
- Swelling and effusion: Observed location, onset, assessment method, and present | absent | uncertain result
- Task-specific function: Task, assistance, tolerance, symptoms, and observed or reported performance
- Local tissue condition: Named structure, finding, assessment method, date, and certainty
- Intervention and restriction relationship: Linked procedure, implant, clinical instruction, responsible professional, and effective dates
Recognition required Filled
- The knee region surrounds the kneecap at the junction of the thigh and lower leg.
- Images may show surface and deeper tissues around the patella and the meeting of the femur and tibia, depending on the imaging method.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Associate symptoms, examination records, and imaging with the correct knee and local structure.
- Compare knee motion, swelling, symptoms, and task performance across dated assessments.
- Identify missing or conflicting evidence before attributing symptoms to a particular knee structure.
- Check a proposed knee-related activity against recorded restrictions and assessment requirements.
- Link knee procedures and implants to subsequent structural and functional observations.
- Flag recorded concerns for qualified review using an applicable clinical protocol.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Ligament and meniscus tears cause instability and later arthritis.
- Falls onto the knee can fracture the kneecap.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Terminologia Anatomica, issued by the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology under the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists, standardizes names for the knee region and its anatomical structures.
Context of use required Filled
- The knee is encountered in anatomy, movement assessment, rehabilitation and the evaluation of lower limb injuries.
- It supports body weight and enables movements involved in walking, climbing stairs, sitting and kneeling.
Sources Filled
- Knee joint: anatomy, ligaments and movements - Joint type, bones, tibiofemoral versus patellofemoral articulations, ligaments and menisci, innervation, blood supply, and named movements.
- Knee joint - Modified-hinge classification, largest synovial joint, compartment geometry, menisci, and published flexion/extension/rotation ranges used in imaging.
- In brief: How does the knee work? - Three-compartment model, typical flexion to about 150°, and rotation of a flexed knee (about 10° inward, 30° outward).
- ISO 21536:2023 Non-active surgical implants - Joint replacement implants - Specific requirements for knee-joint replacement implants - That total and partial knee replacements, with or without patellofemoral replacement, are a regulated implant class with specified performance, materials and test methods.
- knee joint - Cross-walk of the joint into SNOMED CT, FMA, MeSH, UBERON, NCIt, ICD-11 extension, ICF, RadLex and related anatomy codes.
- LOINC 100165-0 Knee range of motion - A standard observation identifier for quantitative knee range of motion in degrees, including use in Knee Society Score panels.
- Evaluation and Treatment of Knee Pain: A Review - Population-scale osteoarthritis burden, patellofemoral pain and meniscal-tear prevalence, and first-line versus surgical management.
- 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee - Joint-specific OA treatment recommendations, including tibiofemoral versus patellofemoral bracing.
- ICD-10-CM order file (2022) - M17 Osteoarthritis of knee and related deformity codes - US clinical coding of knee osteoarthritis and knee deformity with mandatory laterality.
- Wikidata item Q37425: knee - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Knee - general description of the item
Open questions
- Does vr.tr.knee cover human knees only, or must species-specific knee anatomy and terminology be represented?
- What precise regional boundary should govern ownership of bursae, the proximal tibiofibular joint, the popliteal region, and adjacent tendon segments?
- Which established Vercy models already own anatomical joints, knee disorders, procedures, and implants, and how should this entry link to them?
- Which validated assessment methods, grading systems, and measurement conventions should be supported for different ages and clinical contexts?
- Which authoritative clinical protocols should govern review triggers and action constraints, including after repair, reconstruction, or replacement?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q37425/spec.json