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The interactive dog atlas · Exterior and regions · Hindlimb

Lower thigh (second thigh) crus

The lower thigh is the segment of the hind leg between the stifle and the hock. It has two bones: the tibia, thicker, in front, and the fibula, slender, on the outer side.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Exterior Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
  1. Lower thigh (second thigh)
  2. Stifle (knee)
  3. Hock
Lower thigh (second thigh) on the atlas drawing, "Exterior and regions" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

Between the stifle and the hock.

System
Body regions
Region
Hindlimb

What it is and what it does

The lower thigh is the segment of the hindlimb between the stifle and the hock. It has two bones: the tibia, thicker, in front, and the fibula, slender, on the outer side. In the standing dog the lower thigh slopes backward, and its length relative to the thigh gives the "angulation" of the hindlimb.

Worth remembering

In the standing dog the lower thigh slopes backward; its length relative to the thigh gives the "angulation" of the hind leg.

Names

  • Also called: crural region.
  • Latin term: crus.
  • In Romanian: Gamba (Romanian page).

From the same region: Hindlimb

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: exterior and regions