THIGH BONE. 213 



any point ; and, again, the multiplicity of simple motions of the 

 hand, and the exhaustless variety of their compounds, contri- 

 bute to give to the upper extremity, in man, a perfection of me- 

 chanism infinitely beyond any thing which can be devised by 

 the powers of art: a sentiment cogently expressed by the late 

 Professor Wistar: who remarked, that " The human hand, di- 

 rected by the human mind, is the most perfect instrument that 

 man ever saw or ever will see." 



CHAPTER VI. 



OF THE INFERIOR EXTREMITIES. 



THE bones of the inferior extremities are the os femoris, the 

 tibia, fibula, patella, and a large number which enter into the 

 composition of the foot. 



SECT. i. OF THE THIGH BONE, (Os Femoris, Femur.) 



This is the only bone in the thigh, and extends from the trunk 

 to the leg. It is considerably the longest and largest bone in the 

 skeleton, and presents a conformation entirely peculiar. For 

 the purposes of description, it is divided into the two extremities 

 and the body. 



The superior or iliac extremity presents three well marked 

 eminences, the head, the great and the little trochanter. The 

 head is the articular surface above, and forms rather more than 

 one-half of a perfect sphere. Its smoothness indicates the exist- 

 ence of a cartilaginous crust on it during life, and is only inter- 

 rupted by a small pit a little below its centre, which gives at- 

 tachment to the round ligament of the hip joint. Its articular 

 surface is ? more extensive above than below, as that part is chief- 

 ly employed in sustaining the trunk, and comes in contact with 

 a corresponding surface of the os innominatum. The head is sup- 

 ported on a branch of the os femoris called the neck, which, pro- 



