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Encyclopedia article about femur. What made you want to look up femur? Please tell us where you read or heard it including the quote, if possible. Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! A word with surprisingly literal origins. Do you feel lucky? Our Word of the Year justice , plus 10 more. How we chose 'justice'. And is one way more correct than the others? How to use a word that literally drives some people nuts.
The awkward case of 'his or her'. Identify the word pairs with a common ancestor. Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way. NCAA hockey champ to play at ASU," 10 May Then in the early s, alarming news reports began to appear linking extended use of bisphosphonates to two uncommon bone problems: NOPD," 10 May Now beef femurs , neck bones and knuckles spend 20 hours in a pot, riddled by fennel and coriander seeds. First Known Use of femur circa , in the meaning defined at sense 1. History and Etymology for femur New Latin femor-, femur , from Latin, thigh.
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Explore the year a word first appeared. Dictionary Entries near femur femto- femtometer femtosecond femur fen Fen fenagle. The body of the femur or shaft is long, slender and almost cylindrical in form. It is a little broader above than in the center, broadest and somewhat flattened from before backward below. It is slightly arched, so as to be convex in front, and concave behind, where it is strengthened by a prominent longitudinal ridge, the linea aspera which diverges proximal and distal as the medial and lateral ridge.
Proximal the lateral ridge of the linea aspera becomes the gluteal tuberosity while the medial ridge continues as the pectineal line. Besides the linea aspera the shaft has two other bordes; a lateral and medial border. These three bordes separates the shaft into three surfaces: One anterior , one medial and one lateral. Due to the vast musculature of the thigh the shaft can not be palpated.
The third trochanter is a bony projection occasionally present on the proximal femur near the superior border of the gluteal tuberosity. When present, it is oblong, rounded, or conical in shape and sometimes continuous with the gluteal ridge. The lower extremity of the femur or distal extremity is larger than the upper extremity. It is somewhat cuboid in form, but its transverse diameter is greater than its antero-posterior front to back.
It consists of two oblong eminences known as the condyles. Anteriorly, the condyles are slightly prominent and are separated by a smooth shallow articular depression called the patellar surface. Posteriorly, they project considerably and a deep notch, the Intercondylar fossa of femur , is present between them. The lateral condyle is the more prominent and is the broader both in its antero-posterior and transverse diameters. The medial condyle is the longer and, when the femur is held with its body perpendicular, projects to a lower level. When, however, the femur is in its natural oblique position the lower surfaces of the two condyles lie practically in the same horizontal plane.
The condyles are not quite parallel with one another; the long axis of the lateral is almost directly antero-posterior, but that of the medial runs backward and medialward. Their opposed surfaces are small, rough, and concave, and form the walls of the intercondyloid fossa. This fossa is limited above by a ridge, the intercondyloid line , and below by the central part of the posterior margin of the patellar surface. The posterior cruciate ligament of the knee joint is attached to the lower and front part of the medial wall of the fossa and the anterior cruciate ligament to an impression on the upper and back part of its lateral wall.
The articular surface of the lower end of the femur occupies the anterior, inferior, and posterior surfaces of the condyles. Its front part is named the patellar surface and articulates with the patella ; it presents a median groove which extends downward to the intercondyloid fossa and two convexities, the lateral of which is broader, more prominent, and extends farther upward than the medial.
Each condyle is surmounted by an elevation, the epicondyle.
The medial epicondyle is a large convex eminence to which the tibial collateral ligament of the knee-joint is attached. At its upper part is the adductor tubercle and behind it is a rough impression which gives origin to the medial head of the gastrocnemius. The lateral epicondyle which is smaller and less prominent than the medial, gives attachment to the fibular collateral ligament of the knee-joint.
The femur develops from the limb buds as a result of interactions between the ectoderm and the underlying mesoderm , formation occurs roughly around the fourth week of development. By the sixth week of development, the first hyaline cartilage model of the femur is formed by chondrocytes. Endochondral ossification begins by the end of the embryonic period and primary ossification centers are present in all long bones of the limbs, including the femur, by the 12th week of development. The hindlimb development lags behind forelimb development by 1—2 days.
femur, femora
As the femur is the only bone in the thigh, it serves as an attachment point for all the muscles that exert their force over the hip and knee joints. Some biarticular muscles — which cross two joints, like the gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles — also originate from the femur. In all, 23 individual muscles either originate from or insert onto the femur. In cross-section, the thigh is divided up into three separate fascial compartments divided by fascia , each containing muscles. These compartments use the femur as an axis, and are separated by tough connective tissue membranes or septa.
Each of these compartments has its own blood and nerve supply, and contains a different group of muscles. These compartments are named the anterior , medial and posterior fascial compartments. A femoral fracture that involves the femoral head , femoral neck or the shaft of the femur immediately below the lesser trochanter may be classified as a hip fracture , especially when associated with osteoporosis.
Femur fractures can be managed in a pre-hospital setting with the use of a traction splint.
femora - Wiktionary
In primitive tetrapods, the main points of muscle attachment along the femur are the internal trochanter and third trochanter , and a ridge along the ventral surface of the femoral shaft referred to as the adductor crest. The neck of the femur is generally minimal or absent in the most primitive forms, reflecting a simple attachment to the acetabulum. The greater trochanter was present in the extinct archosaurs , as well as in modern birds and mammals, being associated with the loss of the primitive sprawling gait. The lesser trochanter is a unique development of mammals, which lack both the internal and fourth trochanters.
The adductor crest is also often absent in mammals or alternatively reduced to a series of creases along the surface of the bone. Some species of whales , [11] snakes , and other non-walking vertebrates have vestigial femurs. One of the earliest known vertebrates to have a femur is the eusthenopteron , a prehistoric lobe-finned fish from the Late Devonian period.
Structures analogous to the third trochanter are present in mammals, including some primates. In invertebrate zoology the name femur appears in arthropodology. The usage is not homologous with that of vertebrate anatomy; the term "femur" simply has been adopted by analogy and refers, where applicable, to the most proximal of usually the two longest jointed segments of the legs of the arthropoda.
The two basal segments preceding the femur are the coxa and trochanter. This convention is not followed in carcinology but it applies in arachnology and entomology. In myriapodology another segment, the prefemur, connects the trochanter and femur.
Position of femur shown in red. Pelvis and patella are shown as semi-transparent. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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Upper extremity of femur. Lower extremity of femur. Hip fracture and femoral fracture. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Journal of Anatomy and Physiology. Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland.