The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the

proximal Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

bone A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...

of the

hindlimb A hindlimb or back limb is one of the paired articulated appendages (limbs) attached on the caudal ( posterior) end of a terrestrial tetrapod vertebrate's torso.http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/hind%20limb, Merriam Webster Dictionary-Hindl ...

tetrapod Tetrapods (; ) are four-limbed vertebrate animals constituting the superclass Tetrapoda (). It includes extant and extinct amphibians, sauropsids ( reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (pelycosaurs, extinct theraps ...

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

s. The head of the femur articulates with the

acetabulum The acetabulum (), also called the cotyloid cavity, is a concave surface of the pelvis. The head of the femur meets with the pelvis at the acetabulum, forming the hip joint. Structure There are three bones of the ''os coxae'' (hip bone) that c ...

in the

pelvic bone The hip bone (os coxae, innominate bone, pelvic bone or coxal bone) is a large flat bone, constricted in the center and expanded above and below. In some vertebrates (including humans before puberty) it is composed of three parts: the ilium, isch ...

forming the

hip joint In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region is ...

, while the distal part of the femur articulates with the

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

(shinbone) and

patella The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as m ...

(kneecap), forming the

knee joint In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

. By most measures the two (left and right) femurs are the strongest bones of the body, and in humans, the largest and thickest.

Structure

The femur is the only bone in the upper

leg A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ca ...

. The two femurs converge medially toward the

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

s, where they articulate with the

ends of the

e. The angle of convergence of the femora is a major factor in determining the

femoral-tibial angle The femoral-tibial angle is the angle between the femur and tibia. In humans, the two femurs converge medially toward the knees, where they articulate with the proximal ends of the tibiae. The angle of convergence of the femora is a major factor i ...

. Human females have thicker

s, causing their femora to converge more than in males. In the condition ''genu valgum'' (knock knee) the femurs converge so much that the knees touch one another. The opposite extreme is ''genu varum'' (bow-leggedness). In the general population of people without either ''genu valgum'' or ''genu varum'', the femoral-tibial angle is about 175 degrees. The femur is the largest and thickest bone in the human body. By some measures, it is also the strongest bone in the human body. This depends on the type of measurement taken to calculate strength. Some strength tests show the temporal bone in the skull to be the strongest bone. The femur length on average is 26.74% of a person's height, a ratio found in both men and women and most

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

s with only restricted variation, and is useful in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

because it offers a basis for a reasonable estimate of a subject's height from an incomplete

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

. The femur is categorised as a

long bone The long bones are those that are longer than they are wide. They are one of five types of bones: long, Short bone, short, Flat bone, flat, Irregular bone, irregular and Sesamoid bone, sesamoid. Long bones, especially the femur and tibia, are subj ...

and comprises a

diaphysis The diaphysis is the main or midsection (shaft) of a long bone. It is made up of cortical bone and usually contains bone marrow and adipose tissue (fat). It is a middle tubular part composed of compact bone which surrounds a central marrow cavit ...

(shaft or

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...

) and two

epiphyses The epiphysis () is the rounded end of a long bone, at its joint with adjacent bone(s). Between the epiphysis and diaphysis (the long midsection of the long bone) lies the metaphysis, including the epiphyseal plate (growth plate). At the join ...

(extremities) that articulate with adjacent bones in the hip and knee.

Upper part

The upper or proximal extremity (close to the

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical term for the central part, or the core, of the body of many animals (including humans), from which the head, neck, limbs, tail and other appendages extend. The tetrapod torso — including that of a human � ...

) contains the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

neck The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In ...

, the two

trochanter A trochanter is a tubercle of the femur near its joint with the hip bone. In humans and most mammals, the trochanters serve as important muscle attachment sites. Humans are known to have three trochanters, though the anatomic "normal" includes ...

s and adjacent structures. The upper extremity is the shortest femoral extremity, the lower extremity is the thickest femoral extremity. The head of the femur, which articulates with the

of the

, comprises two-thirds of a

sphere A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

. It has a small groove, or

fovea Fovea () (Latin for "pit"; plural foveae ) is a term in anatomy. It refers to a pit or depression in a structure. Human anatomy *Fovea centralis of the retina * Fovea buccalis or Dimple * Fovea of the femoral head * Trochlear fovea of the fr ...

, connected through the round ligament to the sides of the

acetabular notch The acetabular notch is a deep notch in the acetabulum of the hip bone. The acetabular notch is continuous with a circular non-articular depression, the acetabular fossa, at the bottom of the cavity: this depression is perforated by numerous aper ...

. The head of the femur is connected to the shaft through the

or ''collum''. The neck is 4–5 cm. long and the diameter is smallest front to back and compressed at its middle. The collum forms an angle with the shaft in about 130 degrees. This angle is highly variant. In the

infant An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

it is about 150 degrees and in

old age Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

reduced to 120 degrees on average. An abnormal increase in the angle is known as

coxa valga Coxa valga is a deformity of the hip where the angle formed between the head and neck of the femur and its shaft is increased, usually above 135 degrees. The differential diagnosis includes neuromuscular disorders (i.e. cerebral palsy, spinal dys ...

and an abnormal reduction is called

coxa vara Coxa vara is a deformity of the hip, whereby the angle between the head and the shaft of the femur is reduced to less than 120 degrees. This results in the leg being shortened and the development of a limp. It may be congenital and is commonly cau ...

. Both the head and neck of the femur is vastly embedded in the hip musculature and can not be directly

palpated Palpation is the process of using one's hands to check the body, especially while perceiving/diagnosing a disease or illness. Usually performed by a health care practitioner, it is the process of feeling an object in or on the body to determine ...

. In skinny people with the

thigh In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip (pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of bone ...

laterally rotated, the head of the femur can be felt deep as a resistance

profound {{Short pages monitor