Femur

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Bone: Femur

Anterior view of the femur
Gray's	subject #59 242
Origins	Gastrocnemius , Vastus lateralis, Vastus medialis, Vastus intermedius
Insertions	tensor fasciae latae, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, Gluteus maximus, Iliopsoas
Articulations	hip: acetabulum of pelvis superiorly knee: with the tibia and patella inferiorly
MeSH	Femur

The femur or thigh bone is the longest, most voluminous, and strongest bone of the mammalian bodies. It forms part of the hip and part of the knee.

The word femur is Latin for thigh. In strict usage, femur bone is more proper than femur, as femur refers to thigh, and femur bone refers to the bone within it. The name of the bone itself comes from os femoris, although in modern medical usage the term femur is most often applied to the bone and not the thigh. In medical Latin its genitive is always femoris, but in classical Latin its genitive is often feminis, and should not be confused with case forms of femina, which means woman.

1 Features
2 Muscle Attachments
- 2.1 Greater trochanter
- 2.2 Lesser trochanter
3 Fractures
- 3.1 Hip fracture
4 In other animals
5 External links
6 Additional images

[edit] Features

The average length of the femur bone is 43.2 cm. The femur bone consists of a head and a neck proximally, a diaphysis (or shaft), and two condyles (medial and lateral) distally.

[edit] Proximal end

The proximal end of femur bone is composed by: head, neck, greater trochanter and lesser trochanter. The femur's head forms a ball-and-socket joint at the hip. The surface of the femoral head is smooth except in a small depression named "fovea capitis femoris" that gives attachment to the ligament of the head of the femur, that joins femur with coxal acetabulum. One important function of the femoral head is the production of red blood cells within the bone marrow.

The femoral neck is located between head and trochanters. The femoral neck and the femoral diaphysis form the femoral neck angle that normally is about 125º. Other proximal features of the bone include the greater trochanter and the lesser trochanter, two bony projections that allow muscles to attach.

[edit] Body

The body of the femur bone presents three borders: posterior, that corresponds to the linea aspera, lateral and medial. These borders delimit three surfaces: anterior, posteromedial and posterolateral.

The main anatomical structure in the femoral diaphysis (body) is the linea aspera.

Posteriorly the gluteal tuberosity is a rough surface that the gluteus maximus attaches to. Beneath this, the linea aspera runs down the back of the femur bone, which also provides an attachment for the biceps femoris muscle.

[edit] Distal end

Distal end of the femur

The condyles at the knee form a condylar joint. The medial and lateral condyles on the distal end, are bumps that fit into corresponding articular facets on the tibia. The gap between the two condyles is called the intercondylar fossa (or notch). Above the femoral condyles are the medial and lateral epicondyles, above the medial epicondyle is the adductor tubercle.

[edit] Muscle Attachments

[edit] Greater trochanter

[edit] Lesser trochanter

[edit] Fractures

Femur bone fractures, on occasion, are liable to cause permanent disability because the thigh muscles pull the fragments so they overlap, and the fragments re-unite incorrectly. To avoid this, femur fracture patients should be put into traction to keep the fragments pulled into proper alignment. With modern medical procedures, such as the insertion of rods and screws by way of surgery (known as Antegrade [through the hip] or Retrograde [through the knee] femoral rodding) those suffering from femur fractures can now generally expect to make a full recovery, though one that generally takes 3 to 6 months due to the bone's size. The thigh is generally not put in a cast since the surgical hardware does the job of straightening the bone and holding the fracture together while it heals. Permanent complications with this procedure include the risk of intra-articular sepsis, arthritis and knee stiffness. Patients can expect such hardware to be permanent and should not put weight on the leg without permission from an orthopedic surgeon since this can delay the healing process.

[edit] Hip fracture

Main article: Hip fracture

If bone is weakened, the proximal end of the femur bone near the hip joint is prone to fragility fracture. Most at risk are caucasian, post-menopausal women, and osteoporosis severely increases this risk. The Femur takes the longest to heal out of all the bones in the skeleton.

[edit] In other animals

Parallel structures by the same name exist in other complex animals, such as the bone inside a ham or a leg of lamb. The name femur is also given to the most proximal full-length jointed segment of an arthropod's leg.

[edit] External links

[edit] Additional images

Knee diagram	Upper extremity of right femur viewed from behind and above.	Right femur. Anterior surface.	Right femur. Posterior surface.
Left hip-joint, opened by removing the floor of the acetabulum from within the pelvis.	Right knee-joint. Posterior view.	Left knee-joint from behind, showing interior ligaments.	Sagittal section of right knee-joint.
Capsule of right knee-joint (distended). Lateral aspect.	Capsule of right knee-joint (distended). Posterior aspect.	Cross-section through the middle of the thigh.	Deep muscles of the medial femoral region.