The bones of lower limb are femur, patella, tibia and fibula, tarsals, metatarsals and phalanges.
i. Femur: The thigh bone is the longest bone in the body. The head is joined to shaft at an angle by a short neck. It forms ball and socket joint with acetabulum cavity of coxal bone. The lower one third region of shaft is triangular flattened area called popliteal surface. Distal end has two condyles that articulate with tibia and fibula.
ii. Patella: It is also called as knee cap. ft is a sesamoid bone (bone embedded in tendon). It is a flat rounded bone with a pointed lower end.
iii. Tibia and fibula: These are the two long bones of shank or lower leg. The two bones are connected to each other at the extremities. In between the two bones interosseous membrane is present.
1. Tibia: It is much thicker and stronger than fibula. Its broad and expanded upper end articulates with femur and the lower end articulates with talus (tarsal bone).
2. Fibula: It is a long slender bone on lateral side of tibia.
iv. Tarsals: These are the bones of ankle. Seven tarsals are arranged in three rows, two proximal, one intermediate and four distal.
v. Metatarsals: Five metatarsal bones support the foot. Proximally they attach with distal row of tarsals and distally the metatarsals articulate with phalanges.
vi. Phalanges: These are the bones of the toes. Except the big toe which has two phalanges, the other four toes have three phalanges each.