Lower Leg Bone Anatomy

Several muscles attach to and act on the femur. Together with the upper leg it forms the lower extremity.

Skeletal System Quizzes

The lower leg contains two major long bones the tibia and the fibula which are both very strong skeletal structures.

Lower leg bone anatomy. Also called the shin bone the tibia is the longer of the two bones in the lower leg. They take full advantage of the mobility provided by two joints. Next to the tibia is the fibula the thinner weaker bone of the lower leg.

The hip joint via its upper extremity and the knee joint via its lower extremity. The lower leg is a major anatomical part of the skeletal system. The femur participates in two major joints in the lower leg.

It acts as the main weight bearing bone of the leg. At the distal end of the femur two rounded condyles meet the tibia and fibula bones of the lower leg to form the knee joint. When your non health science friends talk about the leg they mean the entire lower extremity.

It is also known as the calf bone as it sits slightly behind the tibia on the outside of the leg. The knee is a strong but flexible hinge joint that uses muscles and ligaments to withstand the torques and strains of powerful leg movements. It lies between the knee and the ankle while the upper leg lies between the hip and the knee.

However in the world of anatomy the leg strictly means the portion between the knee and the ankle joints.

Fibula Anatomy