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The femur (/ ˈ f iː m ər /; pl.: femurs or femora / ˈ f ɛ m ər ə /), [1] [2] or thigh bone, is the only bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg .
It is composed of 270 bones at the time of birth, [2] but later decreases to 206: 80 bones in the axial skeleton and 126 bones in the appendicular skeleton. 172 of 206 bones are part of a pair and the remaining 34 are unpaired. [3] Many small accessory bones, such as sesamoid bones, are not included in this.
The major bones of the leg are the femur (thigh bone), tibia (shin bone), and adjacent fibula, and these are all long bones. The patella (kneecap) is the sesamoid bone in front of the knee . Most of the leg skeleton has bony prominences and margins that can be palpated and some serve as anatomical landmarks that define the extent of the leg.
Lower portion of a human skeleton. Leg bones are the bones found in the leg. These can include the following: Femur – The bone in the thigh. Patella – The knee cap; Tibia – The shin bone, the larger of the two leg bones located below the knee cap; Fibula – The smaller of the two leg bones located below the patella
The other primary skeletal component of height are the vertebrae and skull. The outside of the bone consists of a layer of connective tissue called the periosteum. Additionally, the outer shell of the long bone is compact bone, then a deeper layer of cancellous bone (spongy bone) which contains in the medullary cavity the bone marrow.
The other two borders of the femur are only slightly marked: the lateral border extends from the antero-inferior angle of the greater trochanter to the anterior extremity of the lateral condyle; the medial border from the intertrochanteric line, at a point opposite the lesser trochanter, to the anterior extremity of the medial condyle.
Same point of view as above of right femur from behind. Greater trochanter is labeled at right. The greater trochanter of the femur is a large, irregular, quadrilateral eminence and a part of the skeletal system. It is directed lateral and medially and slightly posterior. In the adult it is about 2–4 cm lower than the femoral head. [1]
The gluteal tuberosity is the lateral prolongation of three prolongations of the linea aspera that extending superior-ward from the superior extremity of the linea aspera [1] on the posterior surface of the femur. [2] The gluteal tuberosity takes the form of either an elongated depression [3] or a rough ridge.