Great Trochanter
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The greater trochanter of the
femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with ...
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.Standring, Susan, editor. ''Gray’s Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice''. Forty-First edition, Elsevier Limited, 2016, p. 1327. Because the pelvic outlet in the female is larger than in the male, there is a greater distance between the greater trochanters in the female. It has two surfaces and four borders. It is a traction epiphysis.


Surfaces

The ''lateral surface'', quadrilateral in form, is broad, rough, convex, and marked by a diagonal impression, which extends from the postero-superior to the antero-inferior angle, and serves for the insertion of the tendon of the
gluteus medius The gluteus medius, one of the three gluteal muscles, is a broad, thick, radiating muscle. It is situated on the outer surface of the pelvis. Its posterior third is covered by the gluteus maximus, its anterior two-thirds by the gluteal aponeu ...
. Above the impression is a triangular surface, sometimes rough for part of the tendon of the same muscle, sometimes smooth for the interposition of a bursa between the tendon and the bone. Below and behind the diagonal impression is a smooth triangular surface, over which the tendon of the
gluteus maximus The gluteus maximus is the main extensor muscle of the hip. It is the largest and outermost of the three gluteal muscles and makes up a large part of the shape and appearance of each side of the hips. It is the single largest muscle in the human ...
lies, a
bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
being interposed. The ''medial surface'', of much less extent than the lateral, presents at its base a deep depression, the trochanteric fossa (digital fossa), for the insertion of the tendon of the obturator externus, and above and in front of this an impression for the insertion of the
obturator internus The internal obturator muscle or obturator internus muscle originates on the medial surface of the obturator membrane, the ischium near the membrane, and the rim of the pubis. It exits the pelvic cavity through the lesser sciatic foramen. The i ...
and
superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...
and inferior gemellus muscles.


Borders

The ''superior border'' is free; it is thick and irregular, and marked near the center by an impression for the insertion of the piriformis. The ''inferior border'' corresponds to the line of junction of the base of the trochanter with the lateral surface of the body; it is marked by a rough, prominent, slightly curved ridge, which gives origin to the upper part of the vastus lateralis. The ''anterior border'' is prominent and somewhat irregular; it affords insertion at its lateral part to the
gluteus minimus The gluteus minimus, or glutæus minimus, the smallest of the three gluteal muscles, is situated immediately beneath the gluteus medius. Structure It is fan-shaped, arising from the outer surface of the ilium, between the anterior and infer ...
. The ''posterior border'' is very prominent and appears as a free, rounded edge, which bounds the back part of the trochanteric fossa.


Additional images

File:Gray244.png, Right femur. Anterior surface. File:Gray245.png, Right femur. Posterior surface. File:Gray339.png, Right hip-joint from the front. File:Gray343.png, Capsule of hip-joint (distended). Posterior aspect. File:Gray544.png, The arteries of the gluteal and posterior femoral regions. File:Slide2DAD.JPG, Hip joint. Lateral view.Greater trochanter.


See also

* Third trochanter


References


External links

* * * (, ) * {{Authority control Bones of the lower limb Femur