Mital/Hyden Test primarily detects which structure pathology?

• A. Plica
• B. Patellofemoral pathology
• C. Fracture of fibula
• D. Meniscus

Answer: (A)

This test targets irritation of the knee’s medial patellar plica, a residual synovial fold that can become thickened and painful. When the plica is irritated, bending and twisting the knee can pinch or slide the plica between the femur and the patella, producing anterior knee pain or a snapping sensation. The Mital/Hyden maneuver is designed to stress that plica specifically, so a reproduced pain or snap points to plica pathology. This helps distinguish it from patellofemoral issues, which center on retropatellar pain and grinding rather than a localized plica, and from meniscal or fibular injuries, which present with different patterns such as joint-line tenderness, locking, or acute focal tenderness.