Femur | |
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![]() Position of femur (shown in red) | |
![]() Left femur seen from behind | |
Details | |
Origins | Gastrocnemius, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and vastus intermedius |
Insertions | Gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, iliopsoas, lateral rotator group, adductors of the hip |
Articulations | Hip: acetabulum of pelvis superiorly knee: with the tibia and patella inferiorly |
Identifiers | |
Latin | os femoris, os longissimum |
MeSH | D005269 |
TA98 | A02.5.04.001 |
TA2 | 1360 |
FMA | 9611 |
Anatomical terms of bone |
The femur (/ˈfiːmər/; pl.: femurs or femora /ˈfɛmərə/),[1][2] or thigh bone is the only bone in the thigh. The thigh is the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg.
The top of the femur fits into a socket in the pelvis called the hip joint, and the bottom of the femur connects to the shinbone (tibia) and kneecap (patella) to form the knee. In humans the femur is the largest and thickest bone in the body.