Where it is
The bone of the thigh, from the hip to the stifle.
- Layer
- Skeleton
- System
- Hindlimb
- Region
- Hindlimb
What it is and what it does
The femur is the bone of the thigh. Its round head fits into the acetabulum of the pelvis, at the hip; its lower end articulates with the tibia and the patella, at the stifle. In the standing dog it slopes forward, which is why the stifle comes forward, close to the line of the abdomen.
The large muscles of the hind limb attach to the femur, each on its own landmark: the gluteus medius on the greater trochanter, below the hip; the gluteus superficialis on the third trochanter, lower on the shaft; the two heads of the gastrocnemius on the supracondylar tuberosities, above the stifle. In carnivores, a sesamoid bone forms in the tendon of each gastrocnemius head and articulates with the femoral condyle.
The hind limb is longer and more angular than the forelimb and, unlike the forelimb, which is attached to the trunk only by muscle and ligament, it joins the spine through a bony joint, the sacroiliac joint.
Names
- Also called: thigh bone.
- Latin term: femur.
- In Romanian: Femurul (Romanian page).
In the atlas lessons
How to measure, how growth works, what the coat is (5 min):
Growth: sexual maturity usually begins at 6-9 months, but the growth plates close later, at 8-12 months in small and medium breeds and at 10-16 months in large and giant breeds.
Questions from the atlas
"Find it on the drawing" questions whose answer is this structure; in the atlas you will find them in the question bank and in the lessons.