The uncrossed-doubled patellar tendon: A novel imaging finding

Abstract

A spectrum of anatomic variants of the conventional single patellar tendon have been described however a double patellar tendon is a highly rare finding, which has only been described once before where a cross-over tendon morphology was illustrated. We report the case of a 46-year-old man with a 3 month history of left knee pain who was found to have an incidental double patellar tendon without cross-over, with one deep bundle demonstrating a more conventional patellar tendon course, paralleled by a second anatomically-distinct superficial bundle of differing morphology coursing anterolateral to the deep conventional bundle, explicitly connecting patella to tibial tuberosity. A comprehensive understanding of the anatomic variations of the patellar tendon is essential for both radiologist and clinician to deliver safe clinical practice. We present a rare case of an uncrossed-doubled patellar tendon, which to our knowledge, has never been reported. Keywords: Anatomic variant, Cross-over, Doubled patellar tendon, Knee, MRI