Exam category: Procedures → Extremity
Why it matters: The knee has more eponym views than any other joint in the body. The 2022 ARRT spec names five, all doing roughly the same job (intercondylar fossa or patellofemoral joint) but each solving a different practical problem (patient can't kneel, can't prone, needs bilateral comparison). The registry tests which one fits the patient in front of you, and one of them carries a hard precondition you must check before attempting it at all.
Foot & ankle covered the distal limb. This module takes the lower leg and everything above it: tibia/fibula → knee and patella → femur. The knee's five named views are best learned as two groups — three positions for the same fossa view, and two methods for the patella — rather than five isolated facts. The AP knee is the one projection in the body whose central-ray angle is chosen by measuring the patient, not by a fixed number.
All five of these exist to show either the intercondylar fossa or the patellofemoral joint — group them by which structure they're for, not as five unrelated names.
Intercondylar fossa views, three ways to position the patient:
| Method | Patient position | Why this one |
|---|---|---|
| Camp Coventry | Prone, 40-50° knee flexion | Prone is easier to assume than kneeling |
| Holmblad | Kneeling, 60-70° flexion | Kneeling can itself be uncomfortable, so prone is generally the easier position |
| Béclère | Supine, AP axial (reversed) | For patients who cannot assume the prone position at all |
Answer this to keep going. 11 more sections unlock below.
A patient needs an intercondylar fossa view but can only lie supine; they cannot kneel or lie prone. Which method fits?
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