Biomechanical behaviour of Hoffa’s fat pad

The infrapatellar fat body (Hoffa's fat pad, IFP) is situated between the patellar tendon, the femoral condyle and the tibial plateau of the knee. The IFP consists of white adipose lobules delimited by thin connective septa. The structural functionality of the IFP is debated and may pertain to a cushioning role in the knee joint, providing to distribute and to damp mechanical stresses during articular activity. The present study aimed at assessing the IFP mechanical role and at analysing the correlation between micro-structural configuration and mechanical properties. Histological and ultrastructural methods were exploited to analyse the microscopic anatomy. Finite element micro-models were developed by using the resulting histo-morphometric data. Typical loading conditions, as compressive and shear ones, were investigated. Numerical analyses pointed out the IFP mechanical functionality. The comparison of numerical results and data about the mechanical behaviour of other fat tissues demonstrated the mechanical relevance of IFP.