Femur

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(Redirected from Thigh bone)

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The femur or thigh bone is the longest, most voluminous and strongest bone of the human body (able to withstand over 550 pounds of force). It forms part of the hip and part of the knee.

The word "femur" is Latin for "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 = "woman".

1 Features
- 1.1 Proximal end
- 1.2 Distal end
2 Disease conditions
3 In other animals
4 See also
5 External links

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Features

The femur consists of a head and a neck proximally, a diaphysis (or shaft), and two condyles distally.

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Proximal end

The femur's head forms a ball-and-socket joint at the hip.

Other proximal features of the bone include the greater trochanter and the lesser trochanter, two bony projections that allow muscles to attach.

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

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Distal end

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.

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Disease conditions

The death rate for a hip fracture is between 20% and 35% fatal in the first year. [1]

Femur fractures are liable to cause permanent disability because the thigh muscles pull the fragments so they overlap, and the fragments re-unite wrongly. To avoid this, femur fracture patients should be put into traction to keep the fragments pulled into proper alignment.

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