[Retropatellar knee pain and chondropathy patella]

The phenomenon of the painful knee occurring at the patellofemoral joint of the adolescent knee is known as chondromalacia patellae. The constellation of signs and symptoms that fall with in the generally accepted criteria for this diagnosis may well cover more than one pathologic process. Chondromalacia patellae is a term descriptive of changes present on the patellar articular surface and not a single pathologic entity.