Lower extremity

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rear extremity of horse and wolf , lower extremity of man.
Red: toenail , claw or hoof
Yellow: ball of the toe
Green: heel
Blue: knee joint
Purple: hip joint

In medical terminology, the leg is referred to as the lower extremity (in technical terms, Latin: membrum inferius ) . It is used for locomotion . In four-legged mammals , the corresponding limbs are known as hind legs, rear extremities or pelvic limbs ( pelvinum membrane ). With these too, they make the main contribution to locomotion. While the front limb mainly takes on the support function, the forward thrust is generated by the rear limb.

One leg consists of

  1. Pelvic girdle ( Cingulum pelvicum; Cingulum membri inferioris )
    1. Hip ( coxa )
    2. Hip joint ( Articulatio coxae )
  2. Thigh ( femur )
    1. Knee ( articulatio genus )
  3. Lower leg ( crus )
  4. Foot ( pes ), which is composed of
    1. Heel ( calx )
    2. Tarsus (rear foot ) ( tarsus )
    3. Metatarsal ( metatarsus )
    4. Toes ( digiti pedis )

The components are bones , muscles , tendons , joints , ligaments and nerves , which together enable movement, as well as blood vessels , lymph vessels and the skin covering .

In the average adult , one leg makes up 18.7% of the body weight. The absolute leg length is determined between the head of the thigh and the sole of the foot. Since the head of the femur cannot be felt, the anatomical leg length is often measured, which extends from the greater trochanter ( greater trochanter ) of the femur to the lower edge of the outer ankle . The leg length is about half the height of the adult human. In the newborn, however, the lower extremities are still poorly developed and the leg length is only a quarter of the body height.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hermann Bragulla: Anatomy of domestic mammals: Textbook and Color Atlas of study and practice . Schattauer Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-7945-2650-5 , p. 276
  2. ↑ extremities. Retrieved January 15, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Michael Schünke: Functional Anatomy - Topography and Function of the Movement System . Georg Thieme, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 978-3-13-118571-6 , p. 103.
  4. ^ Jochen Fanghänel, Franz Pera, Friedrich Anderhuber, Robert Nitsch: Waldeyer - Anatomie des Menschen . Walter de Gruyter, 2009, 17th edition, ISBN 978-3-13-118571-6 , pp. 1099–1180.
  5. ↑ The BMI for amputations
  6. ↑ Kay Bartrow: Physiotherapy Basics: Examinations and findings in physiotherapy: examination techniques and diagnostic instruments . Springer-Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-64-220788-4 , p. 211.
  7. ^ Herbert Lippert, Désirée Herbold, Wunna Lippert-Burmester: Anatomie . Elsevier, Urban & Fischer Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-43-726181-7 , p. 9.