{"id":3982,"date":"2021-01-19T13:33:49","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T12:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/lower-limb\/bones\/femur\/"},"modified":"2021-02-04T18:04:56","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T17:04:56","slug":"femur","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/lower-limb\/musculoskeletal-system\/femur\/","title":{"rendered":"Femur"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"intro\">The femur is a long bone found in the high, extending from the pelvis to the knee.<\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_1\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Description<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_1\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The femur is the longest bone in the human body, approximately \u00bc of a person\u2019s height. It supports the majority of one\u2019s body weight during standing and when in movement. It can be divided into a proximal end, a shaft, and a distal end.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_2\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Proximal end of the femur<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_2\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proximal head of the femur has a distinct shape consisting of a head, neck and the lesser and greater trochanters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The <strong>head <\/strong>of the femur is spherical in shape.&nbsp;<ul><li>It articulates with the pelvis at the region of the acetabulum, creating a ball and socket type joint.<\/li><li>The femoral head has a depression on its medial surface called the <strong>fovea<\/strong>, to which the ligament of the head attaches.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>The <strong>neck <\/strong>of the femur is a trapezoidal, narrow region that supports that head and connects it with the femoral shaft.&nbsp;<ul><li>The neck of the femur extends superomedially at an angle of about 125 degrees from the vertical axis. This angle is called the <em>angle of inclination<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>At the junction between the femoral neck and the femoral shaft are two large elevations called the <strong>greater <\/strong>and <strong>lesser trochanters<\/strong>.<ul><li>The <strong>greater<\/strong> trochanter is the larger of the two bony projections.<\/li><li>The greater trochanter is found on the medial surface of femur, just lateral to the neck.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The greater trochanter is the attachment site of many gluteal muscles, including the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius and piriformis.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The <strong>lesser <\/strong>trochanter is smaller and is conical in shape.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The lesser trochanter project from the posteromedial aspect of the femur.<\/li><li>It provides an attachment site for iliopsoas muscle.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Between the greater and lesser trochanters is the <strong>intertrochanteric line<\/strong>, which runs between the two trochanters and separates them.<ul><li>The intertrochanteric line is found on the anterior surface of the femur.<\/li><li>The line runs inferomedially.<\/li><li>The intertrochanteric line is continuous with the <strong>pectineal line <\/strong>(which will be discussed later in the shaft section).<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>The <strong>intertrochanteric crest<\/strong> is a ridge that is found on the posterior surface of the femur, just inferior to the junction between the neck and the shaft.&nbsp;<ul><li>Similarly to the intertrochanteric line,<strong> <\/strong>the crest is also found between both trochanters.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_3\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Shaft<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_3\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shaft descends in a medial direction down the thigh, at an angle of about 7 degrees from the vertical axis towards the midline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The femoral shaft exhibits some variation among individuals. Typically, in cross-section, the middle of the shaft is triangular in shape, with three surfaces:<ul><li>Anterior surface<\/li><li>Posterolateral surface<\/li><li>Medial surface<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>The anterior surface of the shaft is slightly convex.<\/li><li>The posterolateral surface features the <strong>linea aspera<\/strong>, which<strong> <\/strong>is a prominent bony crest that descends vertically along the shaft and acts as the attachment site for multiple thigh muscles.<ul><li>Proximally, the linea aspera consists of two bony ridges that converge as they descend along the shaft. These include the:<\/li><li><strong>gluteal tuberosity<\/strong><ul><li>The gluteal tuberosity is found laterally to the base of the greater trochanter, contributing to the lateral aspect of the linea aspera.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The gluteal tuberosity provides attachment to the gluteal muscles.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>pectineal line<\/strong>&nbsp;<ul><li>&nbsp;The pectineal line emerges inferior to the lesser trochanter, as a continuation of the intertrochanteric line.<\/li><li>The pectineal line descends along the shaft, forming the medial aspect of the linea aspera.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_4\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Distal end of the femur<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_4\">\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The distal end of the femur has two rounded prominences, called the <strong>medial <\/strong>and<strong> lateral condyles<\/strong>.<\/li><li>The condyles, which are leveled uniformly and horizontally, articulate with the tibia and patella bones to form the knee joint.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The <strong>medial condyle <\/strong>is smaller than the lateral condyle and is more easily palpable.<\/li><li>The <strong>lateral condyle<\/strong> is more prominent.<\/li><li>Both condyles provide attachment to the menisci of the knee.<\/li><li>The anterior aspect of the condyles articulate with the patella, while the inferior aspects of both condyles articulate with the associated tibial condyles.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Movement at the knee joint is possible due to the convexity of the femoral condyles, allowing forward and backward gliding as the knee flexes and extends.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The medial and lateral condyles are separated posteriorly due to the <strong>intercondylar fossa<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Anteriorly, there is a depression that extends longitudinally, called the <strong>patellar surface<\/strong>. As its name suggests, the patellar surface of the condyles articulates with the patella bone.&nbsp;<\/li><li>On the lateral and medial side on the lateral and medial condyles, respectively, there are prominent projections that are called the <strong>lateral <\/strong>and <strong>medial epicondyles.&nbsp;<\/strong><ul><li>The two epicondyles are an attachment site for the lateral and medial collateral ligaments of the knee.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n<\/span><div id=\"the_titles\" style=\"display:none;\"><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Description<\/h4><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Proximal end of the femur<\/h4><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shaft<\/h4><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Distal end of the femur<\/h4><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Description The femur is the longest bone in the human body, approximately \u00bc of a person\u2019s height. It supports the majority of one\u2019s body weight during standing and when in movement. It can be divided into a proximal end, a shaft, and a distal end. Proximal end of the femur The proximal head of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3966,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3982","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Femur &#8211; Meddists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/lower-limb\/musculoskeletal-system\/femur\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/lower-limb\\\/musculoskeletal-system\\\/femur\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/lower-limb\\\/musculoskeletal-system\\\/femur\\\/\",\"name\":\"Femur &#8211; 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