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The thigh bone (lat. Femur or Os femoris) is the largest bone in the human body. It is located between the hip bone and the lower leg bones. It is divided into several sections: the femoral head (caput femoris), the femoral neck (collum femoris), the femoral shaft (corpus femoris) and the distal end.

Exercises

Lower extremity

Femur

Neighbouring structures

Patella

Lower leg bone

Tibia

Shinebone

Pelvic girdle

Body regions

Bones lower extremity

Lower extremity

Organ system

Tubular bones

Knochen

Passive movement apparatus

Movement apparatus

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Anatomy

Anatomy of the femur

Anatomy of the femur

The thigh (femur) lies between the hip and the lower leg. The bony basis is the thigh bone (Os femoris). This tubular bone is filled inside with spongy bone balls (cancellous bone). This ensures a high degree of stability while at the same time keeping the weight low. With age, the proportion of bone balls decreases, which causes the bone to break more quickly.

Femoral head (Caput ossis femoris)

The head of the femur has an approximately spherical joint surface. This is connected to the pelvic bones and thus forms the hip joint. In the middle of the head is the hip socket (fovea capitis femoris). This cavity is the point of passage for a ligament (ligamentum capitis ossis femoris) that surrounds the artery supplying the femoral head. The head merges into the femoral neck at a slight angle. The femoral head is angled at about 135° to the femoral shaft. This angle is called the collum-diaphyseal angle (CD angle).

Femoral neck (Collum ossis femoris)

The femoral neck becomes thicker from proximal to distal and is flattened from ventral to dorsal.

At the lateral end of the neck there are two bony humps, so-called rolling hills. The large trochanter (major trochanter) is located ventrally and forms a starting point for the gluteal muscles. The dorsal small trochanter (minor trochanter) also serves as a starting point for various thigh muscles. Another starting point for the muscles is formed by a depression (fossa trochanterica) between the neck and the large trochanter as well as the connections between the two trochanteric mounds. Ventrally, the two mounds are connected via the linea intertrochanterica and dorsally via the crista intertrochanterica.

Femoral shaft (Corpus femoris)

The shaft forms the strong middle part of the thigh bone and begins below the rolling hills. The dorsally located reinforcement bar (Linea aspera) serves as an attachment for almost all femoral adductors, but also ensures high stability with a small diameter.

The linea aspera consists of a central (labium medial) and a lateral groin (labium lateral). In the middle of the shaft, both groins are still close together. However, they diverge upwards and downwards. Proximal the labium laterale merges into a rough surface (Tuberositas glutaea) and the labium mediale is continued by the linea pectina under the small rolling mound. Distally, the two groins diverge into the medial supracondylaris line and the lateral supracondylaris line. These two lines limit the triangular bone field Facies poplitea.

Distal end

At the lower end, the femur is widened to two outwardly curved joint cartilages (condyle medialis and lateralis) covered with cartilage. Together with the tibia they form the knee joint. At the front, the cartilage unites to form an outwardly curved joint surface (Facies patellaris). This forms the connection to the patella. In addition, the gnarls each have small bony protrusions (epicondylus medialis and epicondylus lateralis) as an attachment. In the back, a pit (Fossa intercondylaris), limited by the Linea intercondylaris, separates the two joint gnarls from each other.

Axes and angles

Axes and angles of the femur

Collum axis

The collum axis (also called femoral neck axis) describes the longitudinal axis of the femoral neck.

Condylar axis

The condyle axis is the anterior border of the intercondylar fossa and thus represents a condyle bisector.

CCD angle

The angle between the longitudinal axis of the femoral neck and the major axis of the shaft is called the Centrum-Collum-Diaphyseal Angle (CCD angle). Depending on age and sex, the angle varies. In newborns and infants the angle is up to 150 degrees. With increasing age it decreases steadily and finally amounts to 120 to 130 degrees in adults. Due to the changed strain on the bones during growth, there is a continuous bone remodelling. This is the reason for the change in the CCD angle with advancing age.

Antetorsion angle

The torsion angle is the twisting of the transverse axes of the distal and proximal ends of the femur. The distal end is turned inwards (towards the median plane) by about 12-20 degrees compared to the proximal end.

Function

The thigh bone is involved in the formation of the hip joint as well as the knee joint. The large bone transfers the entire weight of the body from the pelvis to the lower leg.

Development

In the seventh embryonic week, ossifications of the femur can already be detected. These are manifested until the tenth fetal month. In the first year of life, the bone nuclei form in the caput femoris. The greater trochanter is formed approximately in the third year of life. The lesser trochanter follows between the eleventh and twelfth year of life. Closure of the epiphyseal fugues occurs between the 17th and 20th years of life and begins proximally earlier than distally.

Diseases

• Femur fracture
• Arthrosis

Free exploration

Look at the structure of the femur in 3D and explore it freely. Afterwards you can test your acquired knowledge with the exercises.

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Exercises

Further article

Humerus

Foot bones

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