Human anatomy

By
Hussein Sh. Mustafa
Bachelor in physiotherapy/ HMU
Diploma in pharmacy/ EPU

Lab 4
practical
 Bones of lower limb

Like the upper limb, the lower limb is divided into three regions. The thigh is that portion of the lower
limb located between the hip joint and knee joint. The leg is specifically the region between the knee
joint and the ankle joint. Distal to the ankle is the foot. The lower limb contains 30 bones.

• Hip bone • Tarsal Bones

• Femur • Metatarsal Bones

• Patella • Phalanges

• Tibia • Arches of the Foot

• Fibula
Hip bone
• The pelvic (hip) girdle consists of the two hip bones, also called coxal or pelvic bones or os coxae.
• The hip bones unite anteriorly at a joint called the pubic symphysis
• They unite posteriorly with the sacrum at the sacroiliac joints.
• Each of the two hip bones of a newborn consists of three bones separated by cartilage: a superior ilium, an
inferior and anterior pubis, and an inferior and posterior ischium.
• The ilium, the largest of the three components of the hip bone. The body is one of the components of the
acetabulum, the socket for the head of the femur.
• The superior border of the ilium, the iliac crest, ends anteriorly in a blunt anterior superior iliac spine.
• The ischium, the inferior, posterior portion of the hip bone, comprises a superior body and an inferior ramus.
• The ramus is the portion of the ischium that fuses with the pubis.
• Together, the ramus and the pubis surround the obturator foramen, the largest foramen in the skeleton.
• The pubis meaning pubic bone, is the anterior and inferior part of the hip bone.
 Femur
• The femur, or thigh bone, is the longest and strongest
bone of the body, and accounts for approximately one-
quarter of a person’s total height.
• Proximal end is the head of the femur, which articulates
with the acetabulum of the hip bone to form the hip joint.
• The narrowed region below the head is the neck of the
femur. This is a common area for fractures of the femur.
• The greater trochanter is the large, upward, bony
projection located above the base of the neck. Multiple
muscles that act across the hip joint attach to the greater
trochanter.
• The greater trochanter can be felt just under the skin on
the lateral side of your upper thigh.
• The lesser trochanter is a small, bony prominence that
lies on the medial aspect of the femur, just below the
neck.
Femur cont.
• The distal end of the femur has medial and lateral bony expansions.
• On the lateral side, the smooth portion that covers the distal and posterior aspects of the lateral expansion is
the lateral condyle of the femur.
• The roughened area on the outer, lateral side of the condyle is the lateral epicondyle of the femur.
• Similarly, the smooth region of the distal and posterior medial femur is the medial condyle of the femur, and
the irregular outer, medial side of this is the medial epicondyle of the femur.
• The lateral and medial condyles articulate with the tibia to form the knee joint.
• The epicondyles provide attachment for muscles and supporting ligaments of the knee.
• The adductor tubercle is a small bump located at the superior margin of the medial epicondyle.
• Posteriorly, the medial and lateral condyles are separated by a deep depression called the intercondylar fossa.
• Anteriorly, the smooth surfaces of the condyles join together to form a wide groove called the patellar
surface, which provides for articulation with the patella bone.
• The combination of the medial and lateral condyles with the patellar surface gives the distal end of the femur
a horseshoe (U) shape.
Patella bone
• The patella (kneecap) is largest sesamoid bone of the
body.
• A sesamoid bone is a bone that is incorporated into the
tendon of a muscle where that tendon crosses a joint.
• The sesamoid bone articulates with the underlying
bones to prevent damage to the muscle tendon due to
rubbing against the bones during movements of the
joint.
• The patella articulates with the patellar surface of the
femur and thus prevents rubbing of the muscle tendon
against the distal femur.
• The patella also lifts the tendon away from the knee
joint, which increases the leverage power of the
quadriceps femoris muscle as it acts across the knee.
• The patella does not articulate with the tibia.
Tibia bone
• The tibia (shin bone) is the medial bone of the leg and is larger than the fibula, with which it is paired.
• The tibia is the main weight-bearing bone of the lower leg and the second longest bone of the body, after the
femur.
• The proximal end of the tibia is greatly expanded. The two sides of this expansion form the medial condyle of
the tibia and the lateral condyle of the tibia.
• The tibia does not have epicondyles.!!
• The top surface of each condyle is smooth and flattened. These areas articulate with the medial and lateral
condyles of the femur to form the knee joint.
• Between the articulating surfaces of the tibial condyles is the intercondylar eminence, an irregular, elevated area
that serves as the inferior attachment point for two supporting ligaments of the knee.
• The tibial tuberosity is an elevated area on the anterior side of the tibia, near its proximal end. It is the final site
of attachment for the muscle tendon associated with the patella.
• More inferiorly, the shaft of the tibia becomes triangular in shape.
Tibia cont.
• The large expansion found on the medial
side of the distal tibia is the medial
malleolus (“little hammer”). This forms the
large bony bump found on the medial side
of the ankle region.
• Both the smooth surface on the inside of
the medial malleolus and the smooth area
at the distal end of the tibia articulate with
the talus bone of the foot as part of the
ankle joint.
• On the lateral side of the distal tibia is a
wide groove called the fibular notch.
• This area articulates with the distal end of
the fibula, forming the distal tibiofibular
joint.
Fibula bone
• The fibula is the slender bone located on the lateral side of the leg.
• It is not directly involved in transmission of weight.
• It serves primarily for muscle attachments and thus is largely surrounded by muscles.
• Only the proximal and distal ends of the fibula can be palpated.
• It has a proximal head, a narrow neck, a long shaft and a distal lateral malleolus.
• The head of the fibula is the small, knob-like, proximal end of the fibula. It articulates with the inferior aspect
of the lateral tibial condyle, forming the proximal tibiofibular joint.
• The distal end of the fibula forms the lateral malleolus, which forms the easily palpated bony bump on the
lateral side of the ankle.
• The deep (medial) side of the lateral malleolus articulates with the talus bone of the foot as part of the ankle
joint.
• The distal fibula also articulates with the fibular notch of the tibia.
Tarsal bones
• The posterior half of the foot is formed by seven tarsal bones.
• The most superior bone is the talus. This has a relatively square-shaped, upper surface that articulates with
the tibia and fibula to form the ankle joint.
• Inferiorly, the talus articulates with the calcaneus (heel bone), the largest bone of the foot, which forms the
heel.
• Body weight is transferred from the tibia to the talus to the calcaneus, which rests on the ground.
• The medial calcaneus has a prominent bony extension called the sustentaculum tali (“support for the talus”)
that supports the medial side of the talus bone.
• The cuboid bone articulates with the anterior end of the calcaneus bone. The cuboid has a deep groove
running across its inferior surface, which provides passage for a muscle tendon.
• The talus bone articulates anteriorly with the navicular bone, which in turn articulates anteriorly with the
three cuneiform (“wedge-shaped”) bones
• These
• bones are the medial cuneiform, the intermediate cuneiform, and the lateral cuneiform. Each of these bones
has a broad superior surface and a narrow inferior surface, which together produce the transverse (medial-
lateral) curvature of the foot
Metatarsal and phalanges bones
• The anterior half of the foot is formed by the five metatarsal bones, which are located between the tarsal
bones of the posterior foot and the phalanges of the toes.
• These elongated bones are numbered 1–5, starting with the medial side of the foot.
• The toes contain a total of 14 phalanx bones (phalanges), arranged in a similar manner as the phalanges of
the fingers.
• The toes are numbered 1–5, starting with the big toe (hallux).
• The big toe has two phalanx bones, the proximal and distal phalanges.
• The remaining toes all have proximal, middle, and distal phalanges. A joint between adjacent phalanx
bones is called an interphalangeal joint.