FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
The thigh bone or the femur is the longest and strongest bone of human anatomy.
It is the only bone in the upper leg located above the tibia and fibula of the lower large. Femurs support the entire weight of the human body.
The human body is made up of 206 distinct bones. These bones are inherently different from each other and many people are curious to know about the interesting facts related to bones. Different bones are responsible for different functions and the hard structure skeleton made up of bones helps in the protection of the vital organs. Out of all these bones in the human skeleton, the longest bone is the thighbone or femur. Apart from the femur, there are many long bones in the human body. The three largest bones after the femur are the tibia or the shin bone, the fibula or the lower leg, and the humerus or the upper arm. The fibula is the third-largest bone. The biggest concentration of bone in the human body is in the hands and feet with a total of 106 bones.
The femurs serve as the pillar bones in the human body as they help us to make all kinds of movements of the legs. It is also the strongest bone of the skeletal system. The femur is the only bone around the thigh area. It is a light-weighted hollow bone but is as strong as concrete.
If you are interested in similar content, then why not take a look at the articles on biggest blizzard and biggest blizzard in the world fun facts, too?
The longest bone, the femur is sure an important bone but the bone has some weird facts related to it. Apart from being the longest bone, the femur is also a very important bone in the human body. Even though the tibia is vertically set from the knee joint up to the ankle, the femur is set at a 10-15 degree angle called the Q-angle. The Q-angle is greater in females since males have a narrower pelvis than the females.
Among all the long bones of the leg and arm, the femur is the longest in the skeletal system. The length of a person or any animal varies according to the height of the individual. One fun way to know about the length of your femur is by calculating one-third of your height. This is because the length of the femur is always about a quarter of an individual's height. Therefore, you can easily presume how long their femur is actually.
Now coming to the significant role of the femur, it plays the role of the weight-bearing bone of the human body. The femur along with the tibia teams up with the other bones of the foot to support the weight of the human body. However, the stabilizing leg muscle fibula does not play any role in bearing the weight along with the tibia and femur. Weight-bearing exercises like walking, jogging, and running help in maintaining the health of bones and make bones denser. The medial femoral condyle is responsible for bearing a larger amount of weight as the center of gravity is medial to the knee.
Being a long bone in the human skeleton, the femur is made up of both red and yellow bone marrow. The red bone marrow is composed of hematopoietic tissue. The functional unit of this tissue is stem cells that are responsible for creating new platelets and red blood cells. On the other hand, the yellow bone marrow is mostly made up of fat.
The biggest bone femur is the only bone located in the upper leg of the human body. The femur's head is attached to the pelvic bone which results in the formation of the hip joint. The lateral end of the femur attaches with the patella or the knee cap and the proximal ends of the tibia. The thick pelvis makes the femora converge more in women.
Femurs are measured to be the longest bone in humans; it is considered to be the largest, as well as, the thickest bone. It is also the strongest bone of the human skeleton. The anatomy of the femur is divided into three parts: the upper portion, the body, and the lower portion. The upper extremity is the shortest, while the lower extremity is taken to be the thickest femoral extremity in the human anatomy. The body of the femur is cylindrical in shape. It is thinner from the centre and broadest and looks somewhat flattened from below. It serves as an attachment point for all the muscles and bones located above the hip and knee.
The femur is also the originating point for some biarticular muscles like plantaris and gastrocnemius muscles. In total, 23 muscles either insert into or originate from this bone. The transitioning area of the femur from the head is quite rough in nature since many muscles attach to the hip bone in this area. The lower extremity consists of two condyles that do not lie parallel to each other. The femur in humans is slightly arched, it is convex in the front and concave behind where the femur is strengthened by a longitudinal ridge. A bony projection called the third trochanter is sometimes observed to be present on the femur near the gluteal tuberosity border.
The human skeleton has 206 bones out of which the femur is the strongest and the longest bone of the body. The main function of the femur is to bear the weight of the human body and maintain the stability of the gait. However, there are some interesting facts about this bone that you might want to know.
When we say the femur bears the weight of the body, we mean that the entire weight only sits on the two femoral heads of the bones. The femur forms one of the most essential components of the lower kinetic chain. These bones can be divided into three parts: proximal, shaft, and distal. The proximal femur consists of the femoral head, neck, and the two bony protrusions called the greater trochanter and lesser trochanter. The trochanters attach muscles to the bones. The shaft slightly arches in an anterior position and in the distal femur the shaft finally flares into a cone-shaped structure. The base of the distal femur looks cuboidal and is composed of the lateral and medial condyle. The condyles present helps in joining the femur to the bone, tibia. The fibula present in the lower leg is separated from the femur by the patella.
The femur located between the hip and the knee is not only the largest bone of the human body but there are some surprising facts about the bone. It is the only bone between the hip and the knee. The measurement of the femur bone shows that it makes up one-third of the total height of a person.
The femur plays a big role in helping us to stand, walk, and run. Basically, it allows us to move our legs in whichever way we want and in all directions. It is a highly distinct bone because of its robust nature. The large structure of the bone might suggest that the bone is heavy, however, the opposite is true. The femur is a hollow bone that makes it light weighted. Still, the bone is stronger than concrete and its main function is to bear the weight of the upper human body. Breaking or fracturing the femur takes a lot of force. Intense car accidents and falling from great heights are the two most familiar cases where the femur bone might be fractured. Some common early syndromes of femur fractures are fat embolism, compartment syndrome, and shock.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for the biggest bone in the body, then why not take a look at the biggest box of Crayola crayons or the biggest clocks in the world?
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising.
We hope you love our recommendations for products and services! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the buy now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Please note: prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published.
Kidadl has a number of affiliate partners that we work with including Amazon. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.
We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content.
Was this article helpful?
We’ll send you tons of inspiration to help you find a hidden gem in your local area or plan a big day out.
Check your inbox for your latest news from us. You have subscribed to:
Remember that you can always manage your preferences or unsubscribe through the link at the foot of each newsletter.