Prevalence and morphometry of the fabella in cadaveric and radiological studies: Is there a link to knee osteoarthritis?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the morphometric features of the fabella in cadaveric specimens and evaluate its prevalence and potential association with knee osteoarthritis through radiological analysis. METHODS: In the cadaveric study, 65 knees from 32 cadavers and 3 leg specimens were dissected. Fabellas were measured and analyzed histologically. In the radiological study, bilateral knee X-rays of 1712 patients with osteoarthritis and 2304 control subjects were retrospectively reviewed. The presence and laterality of the fabella were recorded. RESULTS: Fabella was detected in 18.4% of dissected knees. No significant sex-based differences were found in morphometric measurements (p > 0.05). In the radiological study, the overall prevalence was 36.5% (37.6% in patients, 35.7% in controls), with no statistically significant association between fabella presence and osteoarthritis (p > 0.05). Lateralization patterns did not differ between groups. CONCLUSION: This study provides the first morphometric data on fabella in Turkish cadavers and suggests no significant relationship between fabella presence and knee osteoarthritis. While fabella is a common anatomical variant, its clinical relevance in osteoarthritis remains inconclusive, warranting further investigation.