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Femur

life science Maturity 11-13 Next article →

The femur is your thigh bone.

Long Bone (Femur)
Long Bone (Femur)

It is the only bone in your thigh. This is the area between your hip and your knee. In humans, it is the longest bone in the body. It is also the thickest bone in the body. Some people even think it is the strongest bone.

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Gray243

This bone is a long bone. A long bone has a main body called a diaphysis. It also has two ends called epiphyses. The top end is the thinnest part of the bone. The bottom end is the thickest part of the bone.

Your femur works by connecting your leg to your torso. The top part has a round head. This head fits into a socket in your pelvis. This connection is called the hip joint. The head is connected to the shaft by a part called the neck. This neck is about 4 to 5 cm long. The bottom of the femur connects to your shinbone and your kneecap.

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Gray246

These parts work together to form your knee. The bottom of the bone has two large bumps called condyles. These condyles help the knee move smoothly.

Scientists have studied the femur for a long time. They can use it to learn about people from the past. The length of the femur is linked to how tall a person is. On average, the femur is 26.74% of a person's total height. This ratio is the same for most men and women.

Femur front
Femur front

Anthropologists use this math to estimate height. They can do this even if they only find a piece of a skeleton. This helps them understand how people lived long ago.

Many different parts of the body attach to the femur. There are 23 individual muscles that connect to it.

Femur back
Femur back

These muscles use the femur as an axis to pull on. The bone has special bumps to help these muscles hold on. One large bump is called the greater trochanter. Another smaller bump is called the lesser trochanter. The shaft of the bone also has a ridge called the linea aspera. This ridge helps the muscles stay in place.

Your femur starts to grow before you are even born. It begins to form around the fourth week of development. By the sixth week, a model made of cartilage is formed. Later, the bone begins to turn into hard bone. This process is called endochondral ossification. It is finished by the 12th week of development.

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Gray348

The femur is a vital part of how you walk and stand. It supports your weight every single day.

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Long Bone (Femur).png
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