What is the Longest Bone in the Body?

What is the longest bone in the body?

Medical Trivia

Medical trivia is fun, even for those without a background in medicine! This bone is found in the leg, and can support a large magnitude of weight. Typically it is broken in car crashes or other traumatic events where the force of the impact is so great. This is also the strongest bone in the body and counts for 1/4 of a person’s height. In females, this bone tends to be larger to accommodate a larger hip structure. Continue reading to learn more!

The correct answer is the femur! This one was a bit of an easy one! The femur supports the hamstring, sartorius, rectus femoris, vastus tateralis, vastus medialis, gluteus maximus, semitendinosus, gracilis, and semimembranosus. The connection of the muscles help people to perform their daily activities including standing, exercising, walking, running, sitting, and various other physical activities.

The femur is on average about 19.9-inches long. The femur is commonly referred to as the thigh bone. The head of this bone articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone which forms the hip joint. Did you know that the femur is also one of the strongest bones in the human body too? It’s almost as hard as concrete! Wow! Since it’s so strong, it takes a lot of force to break it. It can resist forces between 1,800 and 2,500 pounds. The most common causes of femur fractures are car accidents.

The only bone in your thigh is the femur. It creates an attachment point for the muscles that exert force over the hip and knee joints. Its main function is weight-bearing and gait stability. The weight of your upper body all sits on each of the femoral heads.

Development

The femur develops from a limb bud, which is a structure that is formed in early vertebrate limb development. Early formations of the femur typically start around the fourth week of development. During the sixth week, the first hyaline cartilage model of the femur is formed. Hyaline cartilage is translucent cartilage found on many joints surfaces.

Thoughts

Do you know anyone who has ever broken their femur? Over time, our bones lose calcium and start to deteriorate. It is important to take nutrients or calcium supplements to repair the bone structures.

What is the smallest bone in the body?

On the polar opposite side, the tiniest bone in the body is the stapes which is found in the middle of the ear. The stapes is responsible for transmitting sound waves to the membrane in the ear, so that people can hear. Before the brain can interpret sound, sound waves under the ear canal, go through the eardurm, and then enter the middle ear compartment where the sound waves vibrate three bones, the malleus, incus, and the stapes. The Stapes is is a stirrup-shaped bone that also is the lightest bone in the body. It measures about 3 x 2.5mm, greater along the head-base span.

Development

The stapes develops from the second pharyngeal arch during the sixth to eighth week of development.

Discovery

The stapes is commonly described as being discovered by professor Giovanni Filippo Ingrassia in 1546 at the University of Naples. The stapes bone was named because it resembles a stirrup shape, stapes is Latin for stirrup.