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Femur

A femur or thigh bone is the longest bone in the human body. Like the humerus, it has a proximal spherical head for the omniaxial rotation in the hip joint and a more complex-shaped distal articular surface for the articulation in the most complex joint in the human body – the knee joint.

Icon of crossfade image The right thigh bone's standard projections with the terminology comments
Right femur. The ventral, medial and dorsal view
Anterior, medial and posterior aspects of the right thigh bone.
The list of terms: Epiphysis proximalis – Proximal epiphysis
Caput femoris – Head of femur
Collum femoris – Neck of femur
Trochanter major – Greater trochanter
Trochanter minor – Lesser trochanter
Diaphysis femoris – Diaphysis of femur
Linea aspera
Epiphysis distalis – Distal epiphysis
Condylus medialis – Medial condyle
Condylus lateralis – Lateral condyle
Epicondylus medialis – Medial epicondyle
Epicondylus lateralis – Lateral epicondyle
Facies patellaris – Patellar surface
Icon of crossfade image The head and neck of the thigh bone with latin terminology comments
The proximal part of the right femur in different projections
The proximal part of the right femur. The ventral, dorsomedial, and dorsal aspect
Note that both trochanters – the greater and lesser – are connected by intertrochanteric bony ridges. Dorsally this ridge is more prominent and is called "the crest," but ventrally - much less noticeable and therefore called "the line."
The list of terms: Caput femoris – Head of femur
Fovea capitis femoris – Pit in the head of the femur
Collum femoris – Neck of femur
Fossa trochanterica – Trochanteric fossa
Trochanter major – Greater trochanter
Trochanter minor – Lesser trochanter
Linea intertrochanterica – Intertrochanteric line
Crista intertrochanterica – Intertrtochanetric crest
Tuberculum quadratum – Quadrate tubercle
Linea pectinea – Pectineal line
Tuberositas glutealis – Gluteal tuberosity
Corpus femoris – Shaft of femur
Linea aspera
Labium mediale (lineae asperae) – Medial lip of the linea aspera
Labium laterale (lineae asperae) – Lateral lip of the linea aspera
Icon of crossfade image Distal end of the femur with latin terminology added
The distal part of the right thigh bone
The ventral and dorsal aspect of the distal part of the right thigh bone
When the shaft of the femur is placed strictly vertically, the medial condyle is more inferior, than the lateral one. This is compensated by the 3–7° oblique position of femur in situ (constitutional varus)1–3, so that during gait, or prone position with both foots in contact, the condyls are aligned almost horisontally.
The list of terms: Linea aspera
Linea supracondylaris medialis – Medial supracondylar line
Linea supracondylaris lateralis – Lateral supracondylar line
Epicondylus medialis – Medial epicondyle
Epicondylus lateralis – Lateral epicondyle
Facies poplitea – Popliteal surface
Condylus medialis – Medial condyle
Condylus lateralis – Lateral condyle
Facies patellaris – Patellar surface
Fossa intercondylaris – Intercondylar fossa
Linea intercondylaris – intercondylar line
Sulcus popliteus – Groove for popliteus
Tuberculum adductorium – Adductor tubercle
  • 1 McPherson E. Patellar tracking in primary total knee arthroplasty. Instructional course lectures. 2006, 55:439-48.
  • 2 Fang D, Ritter M, Davis K. Coronal alignment in total knee arthroplasty just how important is it? The Journal of Arthroplasty, 2009; 24(6):39-43.
  • 3 Ritter M, Davis K, et al. The effect of alignment and BMI on failure of total knee replacement. The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, 2011; 93(17):1588-1596.
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    360° rotation of the right femur.
    First published: 22/Oct/2020
    Last update: 25/Nov/2020