In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body. The knee is a modified hinge joint, which permits flexion and extension as well as slight internal and external rotation. The knee is vulnerable to injury and to the development of osteoarthritis.
In human anatomy, the peroneus longus is a superficial muscle in the lateral compartment of the leg, and acts to evert and plantarflex the ankle.
The talus, talus bone, astragalus, or ankle bone is one of the group of foot bones known as the tarsus. The tarsus forms the lower part of the ankle joint through its articulations with the lateral and medial malleoli of the two bones of the lower leg, the tibia and fibula. Within the tarsus, it articulates with the calcaneus below and navicular in front within the talocalcaneonavicular joint. Through these articulations, it transmits the entire weight of the body to the foot.
The semimembranosus is the most medial of the three hamstring muscles. It is so named because it has a flat tendon of origin. It lies posteromedially in the thigh, deep to the semitendinosus.
The extensor digitorum longus is a pennate muscle, situated at the lateral part of the front of the leg.
The popliteus muscle in the leg is used for unlocking the knees when walking, by laterally rotating the femur on the tibia during the closed chain portion of the gait cycle. In open chain movements, the popliteus muscle medially rotates the tibia on the femur. It is also used when sitting down and standing up. It is the only muscle in the posterior (back) compartment of the lower leg that acts just on the knee and not on the ankle. The gastrocnemius muscle acts on both joints.
The fascia lata is the deep fascia of the thigh. It encloses the thigh muscles and forms the outer limit of the fascial compartments of thigh, which are internally separated by intermuscular septa. The fascia lata is thickened at its lateral side where it forms the iliotibial tract, a structure that runs to the tibia and serves as a site of muscle attachment.
The medial meniscus is a fibrocartilage semicircular band that spans the knee joint medially, located between the medial condyle of the femur and the medial condyle of the tibia. It is also referred to as the internal semilunar fibrocartilage. The medial meniscus has more of a crescent shape while the lateral meniscus is more circular. The anterior aspects of both menisci are connected by the transverse ligament. It is a common site of injury, especially if the knee is twisted.
The medial inferior genicular is an artery of the leg.
The lower extremity of femur is the lower end of the thigh bone in human and other animals, closer to the knee. It is larger than the upper extremity of femur, is somewhat cuboid in form, but its transverse diameter is greater than its antero-posterior; it consists of two oblong eminences known as the condyles.
The posterior ligament of the head of the fibula is a part of the knee. It is a single thick and broad band, which passes obliquely upward from the back of the head of the fibula to the back of the lateral condyle of the tibia.
The anterior ligament of the lateral malleolus is a flat, triangular band of fibers, broader below than above, which extends obliquely downward and lateralward between the adjacent margins of the tibia and fibula, on the front aspect of the syndesmosis.
The oblique popliteal ligament is a broad, flat, fibrous band, formed of fasciculi separated from one another by apertures for the passage of vessels and nerves.
The superior extensor retinaculum of the foot is the upper part of the extensor retinaculum of foot which extends from the ankle to the heelbone.
A malleolus is the bony prominence on each side of the human ankle.
The anterior meniscofemoral ligament is a small fibrous band of the knee joint. It arises from the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus and passes superiorly and medially in front of the posterior cruciate ligament to attach to the lateral surface of medial condyle of the femur.
The deep fascia of leg, or crural fascia forms a complete investment to the muscles, and is fused with the periosteum over the subcutaneous surfaces of the bones.
The intercondylar area is the separation between the medial and lateral condyle on the upper extremity of the tibia. The anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the menisci attach to the intercondylar area.
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Gray's Anatomy is an English language textbook of human anatomy originally written by Henry Gray and illustrated by Henry Vandyke Carter. Earlier editions were called Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical and Gray's Anatomy: Descriptive and Applied, but the book's name is commonly shortened to, and later editions are titled, Gray's Anatomy. The book is widely regarded as an extremely influential work on the subject, and has continued to be revised and republished from its initial publication in 1858 to the present day. The latest edition of the book, the 41st, was published in September 2015.
