The femur is the body’s longest and strongest bone, forming the thigh and connecting the hip to the knee. Its rounded head fits into the hip socket, while the shaft provides structural support for weight-bearing activities. At the knee, the distal end articulates with the tibia and patella. This essential bone facilitates walking, running, and other leg movements, with a medullary cavity housing bone marrow in terrestrial animals. Found in various vertebrates, the femur’s structure varies, adapting to different species’ locomotor needs and sizes.
It was scanned with an Artec Spider by undergraduate students from the Maastricht Science Programme at the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University.
Yoshioka, Y., Siu, D., & Cooke, T. D. (1987). The anatomy and functional axes of the femur. JBJS, 69(6), 873-880.
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