THE PRINCirLES OF MYODYNAMICS. 1 43 



anter somewhat backward. Let a normal femur 

 be laid on a plane surface on its condyles, and 

 its lesser trochanter and the femoral head will 

 rise some distance above the plane surface : 

 This brines the femoral head forward, or the 

 internal condyle backward, just as the condyle 

 or the head is looked upon as the fixed point. 

 In another place I have shown how a fracture 

 may derange this normal twist of the femur. 

 Now, if the leg be completely extended, and a 

 tape-line fixed over the femoral head and over 

 the apex of the tibio-fibular arch, it will run 

 directly over the long axis of the tibia, and also 

 deviate from the long axis of the femur as it 

 runs from the base of the tibia upward to the 

 femoral head. And the meaning of this fact is 

 this — that, as the weight of the body rests on 

 the femoral head, it is, as a force, directly over 

 the long axis of the tibia, and directly over the 

 tibio-fibular arch, and also directly over the 

 key-bone of the plantar arch. I have verified 

 these facts by a number of observations and 

 measurements. 



144. I have also made some measurements 



