The Anatomy of the Femur

The femur is the heaviest and strongest bone in the body! When you grab this sucker you can feel it's density. The femur is part of your thigh and is referred to as the thigh bone not a bone of the leg! It is the only bone that is in your thigh.

The femur articulates with the innominate bone to make up the hip joint or acetabulofemoral joint (acetabul - for acetabulum and femoral - for femur). It also articulates with the patella (knee cap) and the tibia (shin bone). This joint is called the patellofemoral joint.

Breaking the femur can be very dangerous as there is a major artery that runs along the bone, can you guess its name?

Think about the location of where it runs…

It’s the femoral artery! And this artery is pretty dang big! Anywho, that’s another post in itself.

It’s not often that you will find the femur breaking unless the injury was from a major trauma like a car accident. Another unfortunate reason is if there is an eating disorder present due to the decrease of bone density (that is a post in the making).

Now that you know some fun facts about the femur let’s learn the structures with these resources below (be sure to check out the YouTube Video listed below) :

Anterior View of Femur

1. Fovea Capitis

2. Head

3. Neck

4. Greater trochanter

5. Lesser trochanter

6. Intertrochanteric Line

7a. Lateral Condyle

7b. Medial Condyle

8a. Lateral Epicondyle

8b. Medial Epicondyle

9. Adductor Tubercle

10a. Lateral Supracondylar Ridge

10b. Medial Supracondylar Ridge

11. Patellar Surface

12. Patella

Posterior View of Femur

1. Fovea Capitis

2. Head

3. Neck

4.Greater Trochanter

5.Lesser Trochanter

6.Intertrochanteric Crest

7.Gluteal Tuberosity

8.Pectineal Line

9.Linea Aspera

10a. Lateral Supracondylar Ridge

10b. Medial Supracondylar Ridge

11a. Lateral Epicondyle

11b. Medial Epicondyle

12a. Lateral Condyle

12b. Medial Condyle

13. Intercondylar Fossa

14. Popliteal Surface

15. Adductor Tubercle