human anatomy The human body is the structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the viability of the human body. It comprises a he ...

, the thigh is the area between the

hip 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 ...

(

pelvis The pelvis (plural pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis, or pelvic skeleton). The ...

) and 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 ...

. 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 tissue), and forms a

ball and socket joint The ball-and-socket joint (or spheroid joint) is a type of synovial joint in which the ball-shaped surface of one rounded bone fits into the cup-like depression of another bone. The distal bone is capable of motion around an indefinite number o ...

at the

, and a modified

hinge joint A hinge joint (ginglymus or ginglymoid) is a bone joint in which the articular surfaces are molded to each other in such a manner as to permit motion only in one plane. According to one classification system they are said to be uniaxial (having ...

at the knee.

Structure

Bones

The femur is the only bone in the thigh and serves as an attachment site for all muscles in the thigh. 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 forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with the tibia and patella forming the

. By most measures, the femur is the strongest bone in the body. The femur is also the longest bone in the body. 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 shaft (or body) and two epiphysis or extremities that articulate with adjacent bones in the hip and knee.

Muscular compartments

In cross-section, the thigh is divided up into three separate compartments, divided by

fascia A fascia (; plural fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. ...

, each containing muscles. These compartments use the femur as an axis and are separated by tough

connective tissue Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops from the mesenchyme derived from the mesoderm the middle embryonic germ layer. Connective tiss ...

membranes (or septa). Each of these compartments has its own blood and

nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...

supply, and contains a different group of

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

s. *

Medial fascial compartment of thigh The medial compartment of thigh is one of the fascial compartments of the thigh and contains the hip adductor muscles and the gracilis muscle. The obturator nerve is the primary nerve supplying this compartment. The obturator artery is the bloo ...

, adductor *

Posterior fascial compartment of thigh The posterior compartment of the thigh is one of the fascial compartments that contains the knee flexors and hip extensors known as the hamstring muscles, as well as vascular and nervous elements, particularly the sciatic nerve. Structure Th ...

, flexion, hamstring *

Anterior fascial compartment of thigh The anterior compartment of thigh contains muscles which extend the knee and flex the hip. Structure The anterior compartment is one of the fascial compartments of the thigh that contains groups of muscles together with their nerves and blood sup ...

, extension Anterior compartment muscles of the thigh include sartorius, and the four muscles that comprise the quadriceps muscles- rectus femoris, vastus medialis,

vastus intermedius The vastus intermedius () (Cruraeus) arises from the front and lateral surfaces of the body of the femur in its upper two-thirds, sitting under the rectus femoris muscle and from the lower part of the lateral intermuscular septum. Its fibers en ...

and vastus lateralis. Posterior compartment muscles of the thigh are the

hamstring muscles In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupeds, ...

, which include semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and

biceps femoris The biceps femoris () is a muscle of the thigh located to the posterior, or back. As its name implies, it has two parts, one of which (the long head) forms part of the hamstrings muscle group. Structure It has two heads of origin: *the ''long h ...

. Medial compartment muscles are

pectineus The pectineus muscle (, from the Latin word ''pecten'', meaning comb) is a flat, quadrangular muscle, situated at the anterior (front) part of the upper and medial (inner) aspect of the thigh. The pectineus muscle is the most anterior adductor o ...

, adductor magnus, adductor longus and adductor brevis, and also gracilis. Because the major muscles of the thigh are the largest muscles of the body, resistance exercises (strength training) of them stimulate blood flow more than any other localized activity.

Blood supply

The arterial supply is by the femoral artery and the obturator artery. The lymphatic drainage closely follows the arterial supply and drains to the lumbar lymphatic trunks on the corresponding side, which in turn drains to the cisterna chyli. The deep venous system of the thigh consists of the femoral vein, the proximal part of the popliteal vein, and various smaller vessels; these are the site of proximal deep venous thrombosis. The ''venae perfortantes'' connect the deep and the superficial system, which consists of the saphenous veins (the site of varicose veins).

Clinical significance

Thigh weakness can result in a positive

Gowers' sign Gowers's sign is a medical sign that indicates weakness of the proximal muscles, namely those of the lower limb. The sign describes a patient that has to use their hands and arms to "walk" up their own body from a squatting position due to lack of ...

on physical examination. Regarding Sports injury, whether

acute Acute may refer to: Science and technology * Acute angle ** Acute triangle ** Acute, a leaf shape in the glossary of leaf morphology * Acute (medicine), a disease that it is of short duration and of recent onset. ** Acute toxicity, the adverse eff ...

or from overuse, a thigh injury can mean significant incapacity to perform.

Soft tissue injury A soft tissue injury is the damage of muscles, ligaments and tendons throughout the body. Common soft tissue injuries usually occur from a sprain, strain, a one-off blow resulting in a contusion or overuse of a particular part of the body. Soft ti ...

can encompass sprains, strains, bruising and tendinitis.

Runner's knee Runner's knee may refer to a number of overuse injuries involving pain around the kneecap (patella), such as: *Patellofemoral pain syndrome * Chondromalacia patellae *Iliotibial band syndrome *Plica syndrome Plica syndrome is a condition that oc ...

(

Patellofemoral pain Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS; not to be confused with jumper's knee) is knee pain as a result of problems between the kneecap and the femur. The pain is generally in the front of the knee and comes on gradually. Pain may worsen with sitti ...

): is a direct consequence of the kneecap rubbing against the end of the thigh bone (” femur”). Tight hamstrings and weak thigh muscles, required to stabilize the knee, risk development of runner's knee.

Food

The thigh

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

of some animals such as chicken and cow is consumed as food in many parts of the world.

Society and culture

Western societies generally tolerate clothing that displays thighs, such as short shorts and

miniskirts A miniskirt (sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, separated as mini skirt, or sometimes shortened to simply mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a ...

. Beachwear and many athleisure styles often display thighs as well. Professional dress codes may require covering up bare thighs. Many Islamic countries disapprove of or prohibit the display of thighs, especially by women. Strategic covering or display of thighs is used in popular fashion around the world, such as

thigh-high boots Thigh-high boots, known also as thigh-length boots or simply thigh boots, are boots that extend above the knees to at least mid-thigh. Other terms for this footwear include '' over-the-knee boots'' (abbreviated OTK boots; the full term is also u ...

and ''

zettai ryoiki may refer to: * ''Zettai Fukuju Meirei'', a game set in Postwar West Germany, known as ''Absolute Obedience'' in English * '' Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen'', a shōjo manga written by Akane Ogura * ''Zettai Karen Children'', a Japanese shōnen manga * ...

''.

Additional images

Thigh muscles front.png, Front of thigh muscles from Gray's Anatomy of the human body from 1918. Thigh muscles back.png, Back thigh muscles of the gluteal and posterior femoral regions from Gray's Anatomy of the human body from 1918. Gray432.png, Cross-section through the middle of the thigh. File:Sobo 1909 573-574.png, Also showing major blood vessels and nerves. Thigh_cross_section.svg, Cross-section through the middle of the thigh. Gray436.png, The Obturator externus

References

{{Authority control Lower limb anatomy