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Book

Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Leg Bones

Austin J. Cantrell  1 , Onyebuchi Imonugo  2 , Matthew A. Varacallo  3
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
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Book

Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Leg Bones

Austin J. Cantrell et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

The leg is the region of the lower limb between the knee and the foot. It comprises two bones: the tibia and the fibula. The role of these two bones is to provide stability and support to the rest of the body, and through articulations with the femur and foot/ankle and the muscles attached to these bones, provide mobility and the ability to ambulate in an upright position. The tibia articulates with the femur at the knee joint. The knee joint consists of three compartments.

  1. Medial tibiofemoral compartment

  2. Lateral tibiofemoral compartment

  3. Patellofemoral compartment

At the ankle, the tibia and fibula create the articular surface for the talus. The ankle mortise is a specialized articulation providing support and optimizing motion and function through the ankle joint. A normal ankle joint ultimately optimizes and allows for physiologic mobility of the foot and its associated joints and articulations. The bones and fascia also divide the lower leg into four compartments

  1. Anterior compartment

  2. Lateral compartment

  3. Posterior compartment, superficial

  4. Posterior compartment, deep

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Austin Cantrell declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Onyebuchi Imonugo declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Matthew Varacallo declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Varacallo MA, Luo TD, Mabrouk A, Johanson NA. StatPearls [Internet] StatPearls Publishing; Treasure Island (FL): 2024. May 6, Total Knee Arthroplasty Techniques. - PubMed
    1. Raj MA, Mabrouk A, Varacallo MA. StatPearls [Internet] StatPearls Publishing; Treasure Island (FL): 2023. Aug 8, Posterior Cruciate Ligament Knee Injuries. - PubMed
    1. Binstead JT, Munjal A, Varacallo MA. StatPearls [Internet] StatPearls Publishing; Treasure Island (FL): 2023. May 23, Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Calf. - PubMed
    1. Bordoni B, Varacallo MA. StatPearls [Internet] StatPearls Publishing; Treasure Island (FL): 2023. Apr 17, Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Gastrocnemius Muscle. - PubMed
    1. Hyland S, Varacallo MA. StatPearls [Internet] StatPearls Publishing; Treasure Island (FL): 2023. Jun 5, Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Popliteus Muscle. - PubMed

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