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Fibula

Fibula or calf bone is the second bone of the lower leg. In contrast to the tibia, the fibula practically does not carry any significant weight of the body. The function of this bone is limited by muscle and knee/ankle ligament attachment. The surgical resection of the mid-third of the fibula does not cause a significant biomechanical disturbance on gait1. Due to the limited functional load, the fibula's shaft fracture under some circumstances may remain undiscovered2.

  • 1 Bozkurt M, et al. Dynamic function of the fibula. Gait analysis evaluation of three different parts of the shank after fibulectomy: proximal, middle and distal. Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery. 2005; 125(10):713-720.
  • 2 Freetly T, et al. Incidental asymptomatic fibular stress fractures presenting as varus knee osteoarthritis: A Case Report. American journal of orthopedics (Belle Mead, N.J.) 201; 47(12)
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    Lower leg and foot bones. Anterior and posterior view Fibula in situ. Anterior and posterior aspect.
    Anterior and posterior view of the right lower leg and foot skeleton.
    The list of terms: Epiphysis proximalis – Proximal epiphysis
    Caput fibulae – Head of fibula
    Collum fibulae – Neck of fibula
    Diaphysis (corpus) fibulae – Diaphysis of tibia
    Malleolus lateralis – Lateral malleolus
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    The lower leg skeleton - the proximal part of tibia and fibula Proximal part of shinbone and calf bone with latin terminology comments
    The proximal part of the right lower leg skeleton. Anterior and posterior view.
    The list of terms: Caput fibulae – Head of fibula
    Collum fibulae – Neck of fibula
    Apex capitis fibulae – Apex of head of fibula
    Facies articularis capitis fibulae –
    Margo anterior – Anterior margin
    Margo interosseus – Interosseous margin
    Crista medialis – Medial crest
    Facies lateralis – Lateral surface
    Facies medialis – Medial surface
    Facies posterior – Posterior surface
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    The distal part of the tibia and fibula. Anterior and posterior aspect The distal parts of the lower leg bones.
    The image demonstrates the anterior oblique and the posterior view of the distal part of the lower leg skeleton. Distally the tibia and fibula articulate without articular cartilage (syndesmosis), so motions of fibula relative to the tibia are quite limited. However, the foot's rotation in the ankle joint causes the fibula's slight movement by up to 5°*, increasing the ankle joint's plasticity and, therefore, reducing the risk of traumatic damage.
    The list of terms: Margo anterior – Anterior margin
    Margo interosseus – Interosseous margin
    Margo posterior – Posterior margin
    Facies lateralis – Lateral surface
    Facies medialis – Medial surface
    Facies posterior – Posterior surface
    Malleolus lateralis – Lateral malleolus
    Facies articularis malleoli (lateralis) – Articular surface of malleolus
    Fossa malleoli lateralis – Lateral malleolar fossa
    Sulcus malleolaris – Malleolar groove
  • * Beumer A, et al. Kinematics of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis. Acta Orthopaedica Scandinavica, 2009; 74(3):337-343.
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    360° rotation of the right fibula.
    First published: 02/Nov/2020
    Last update: 25/Nov/2020