These canna be small potatoes! Nope, it’s the patella!
Patella pa·tel·la,
sing. n patella; pl. n patellae
From Latin patina meaning shallow dish
First use: late 16th century
Anatomy def: The kneecap or kneepan; a shallow, conical-shaped bone which articulates with the femur and covers the knee joint.
Outlander def: Knee porn! “nuf said!
Learn about patella and knee joint by reading Anatomy Lesson #7, “Jamie’s Thighs or Ode to Joy!”
Read about the knees in Dragonfly in Amber. Quoting one of many great examples:
Jamie laced his hands together, elbows braced on his knees, and rested his chin on his linked knuckles. “This wilna be like France,” he said quietly. “Fighting there, ye risk no more than your life in battle. Here …” He hesitated, then went on. “Jenny, this is treason. If it goes wrong, those that follow the Stuarts are like to end on a scaffold.
Herself even specifies the knee cap. Again, from Dragonfly in Amber, Claire describes this sad scene:
”Mother Hildegarde wrapped her in a length of white satin,” I said, looking down at my fists, clenched in my lap. “Her eyes were closed. She hadn’t any lashes yet, but her eyes were slanted. I said they were like yours, but they said all babies’ eyes are like that.” Ten fingers, and ten toes. No nails, but the gleam of tiny joints, kneecaps and fingerbones like opals, like the jeweled bones of the earth itself. Remember man, that thou art dust.…
See a great patella on a handsome fella in Starz episode 208, The Fox’s Lair. Claire canna keep her hands off Jamie’s knee <G>!
A deeply grateful,
Outlander Anatomist
