Case history #1

A 20-year-old football player twists his right knee while playing the game. He immediately feels the knee swell. He continues to play the football game that day despite experiencing intermittent pain. He reports that the knee catches and locks intermittently. On examination the right knee joint is swollen with tenderness along the affected joint line.

Case history #2

A 60-year-old woman recently felt a catch in her left knee when getting out of the car. She reports that, since then, her left knee has been aching when she walks several blocks or is sitting in a cinema. She says that the knee catches, and she has intermittent swelling behind the knee. On inspection of the knee, a popliteal (Baker's) cyst is noted at the posterior aspect of the knee joint. Further examination reveals positive McMurray's and Apley's tests.