Thigh

The thigh ( femur Latin ) is the part of the leg or the hind limb between the hip and knee and between the buttocks and lower legs.

Bone

The thigh is supported by the thigh bone ( femur or short femur). This is filled in the interior of fine spongy bone trabeculae ( spongy or trabecular ), along the lines of mechanical stress ( trajektorellen lines) are aligned. They allow a very high stability with minimum consumption of material and weight. Furthermore, the gaps are also filled by bone marrow and thus serve for blood formation. The bone marrow is partially replaced by adipose tissue in old age.

Remarkably, the anatomical position of the femur during walking upright is: Due to the special shape of the hip joint (see below) is the femur wrong in the leg, causing the body weight is not projected through the center of the bone, in which position he would be stable. Due to the misalignment of the bone of the bone shaft ( corpus ) undergoes a high bending stress to the outside and threatens to break. This is prevented by a tension band on the shaft. This tension band is from the side by a broad aponeurosis ( aponeurosis ) on the side ( lateral ) side of the thigh, the strengthening of the thigh bandage ( fascia ) ( fascia lata ) is ( iliotibial band ) and from the middle ( medial) of the pre- leaders, especially of the great pre- guide ( musculus adductor magnus ). This can be especially vivid in people with an increased load on the femur (eg sprinters or weightlifters ) based on the hypertrophy of the leg bandages tensioner ( tensor fasciae latae ), which spans the tendon plate, clarify.

Adjacent joints

The joint between the hip and thigh ( hip joint, articulatio coxae ) is a nut joint, a special form of a ball joint, wherein the joint head is above its equator beyond the socket. The articulating bones are the head of the femur (caput femoris ossis ) and the acetabulum of the pelvis ( acetabulum ).

At the joint between the lower leg and thighs ( knee joint articulation genus) is a bikondyläres joint, the articular surfaces of the condyles ( condyles ) of femur and tibia (tibia). In this joint to pure bending (flexion ) and stretching ( extension) are additionally rotary motion ( rotation ), for example during the final rotation of the knee extension, and displacements (translations ) of the front and the back. The flexion of the knee joint is thus a combined roll ( Athro ) and sliding ( Osteokinematik ) of the femoral condyle to the tibial plateau.

Musculature

The femur is a whole range of muscles as origin and insertion point, such as the outer hip muscles and lower leg muscles. However, the actual fleshy mass of the femur is the thigh muscles, which can be divided into three groups:

• The extensors ( extensors ) form the front thigh muscles,
• The flexors ( flexor ) form the posterior thigh muscles ( hamstrings ) and
• The pre- leader (groin ) form the inner thigh muscles.

Arteries

The abdominal aorta divides in the abdomen into two common iliac arteries ( arteries of the common Latin Ilium ). These are divided each into an external iliac artery ( external iliac artery) and internal iliac artery (internal iliac artery).

Arteries from the internal iliac artery

From the internal iliac artery arise for the care of buttocks and thighs:

• Superior gluteal artery (upper buttocks artery called with animals gluteal artery cranial )
• Gluteal artery inferior ( lower buttocks artery, caudal gluteal artery in animals as indicated )
• Obturator artery ( artery -clogging ); from it spring from a superficial and a deep branch, a branch of the deep branch supplies the head of the femur
• Lateral sacral arteries ( enter through the sacral foramina posteriora in the sacral canal ( sacral canal ) a ).

Artery from the external iliac artery

From the external iliac artery, the femoral artery ( femoral artery ). From the femoral artery arise in humans:

• Epigastric artery Superficial
• Artery circumflex iliac superficial (superficial surrounding the iliac artery)
• Pudendal artery externa ( outer labia artery)
• Arteria profunda femoris (deep femoral artery ) Medial femoral circumflex artery ( inner surrounding the femoral artery)
• Lateral circumflex femoral artery ( outer surrounding the femoral artery)
• Perforating arteries I-III

At the knee, the femoral artery is the popliteal artery ( popliteal artery).

An arterial line in other mammals

In domestic animals goes from the external iliac artery, the deep femoral artery and from this the medial femoral circumflex artery for the inner thigh from. The continuation of the external iliac artery from the crossing on the inner thigh is also referred to as the femoral artery. This artery is used for dog, cat, sheep and goat as pulse sensing point. From the femoral artery arise:

• Lateral circumflex femoral artery ( supplies the quadriceps)
• Several arteries caudal femoris ( supply the rear back muscles)
• Arteria saphena ( supplied inside of the thigh )
• Arteria genus descending ( supplies the knee area )

As of the popliteal fossa is the continuation of the femoral artery, as in humans, as popliteal artery called.

Veins

Venous drainage of the thigh can be topographically and functionally divided into two sections: the superficial and the deep venous system.

To the superficial venous system is one of the largest vein of this system the great saphenous vein. It runs on the anterior ( ventral ) side of the femur. In the area of ​​saphenous she takes on several veins of the skin, so that a so-called veins star ( Crosse ) is created. In the femoral triangle the greater saphenous vein opens into the femoral vein.

The deep venous system is made up of veins, which are parallel to the corresponding arteries and also referred to by the same name together. The most important vein of this system is the popliteal vein, which passes into the femoral vein.

Bug

The thigh, as the remaining part of the leg supplied by the nerves of the lumbosacral plexus.