FRAME-WORK OF THE HOUSE. 35 



THE LEG. The lower end of the femur 

 joins with or rather rests upon the large bone 

 of the leg. The leg below the knee consists 

 of two bones. The tibia (so called because it 

 resembles a tube or pipe, or as some have 

 imagined, a hautboy) is much the largest. 

 The other is called \\\e fibula. They are so 

 placed that the fibula is on the outside. Where 

 the tibia and the femur meet, they form what 

 is called a hinge joint, which means a joint 

 that will only allow of motion backwards and 

 forwards in one direction, like a door on its 

 hinges. But more about this in another place. 



THE KNEE PAN. On the fore part of each 

 lower extremity, where the femur meets the 

 tibia and fibula, to form the knee joint, the 

 patella or knee pan is placed. This is a round 

 flat bone, not joined to the other bones, but 

 lying very closely on them, and kept in its 

 place by what are called tendons. You may 

 see a little how this bone looks in the last 

 engraving ; but I here present you with a pic- 

 ture of it, on a larger scale. 



