Femur As the femur is the only bone in the thigh, it serves as an attachment point for all the muscles that exert their force over the hip and knee joints. Some biarticular muscles – which cross two joints, like the gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles – also originate from the femur. In all, 23 individual muscles either originate from or insert onto the femur. In cross-section, the thigh is divided up into three separate fascial compartments divided by fascia, each containing muscles. These compartments use the femur as an axis, and are separated by tough connective tissue membranes (or septa). Each
Limbs of the horse limb of the horse runs from the pelvis to the navicular bone. After the pelvis come the femur (thigh), patella, stifle joint, tibia, fibula, tarsal (hock) bone and joint, large metatarsal (cannon) and small metatarsal (splint) bones. Below these, the arrangement of sesamoid and phalanx bones and joints is the same as in the forelimbs. When the horse is moving, the distal interphalangeal joint (coffin joint) has the highest amount of stresses applied to it of any joint in the body, and it can be significantly affected by trimming and shoeing techniques. Although having a small range of movement, the