Editing Human leg (section)

=== Bones ===
{{See also|Human skeletal changes due to bipedalism}}
[[File:Human leg bones labeled.svg|thumb|upright|Bones of the leg]]
The major [[bone]]s of the leg are the [[femur]] (thigh bone), [[tibia]] (shin bone), and adjacent [[fibula]], which are all [[long bone]]s. The [[patella]] (kneecap) is a [[sesamoid bone]] (the largest in the body)  in front of the [[knee]]. Most of the leg skeleton has bony prominences and margins that can be [[palpation|palpated]], and some serve as [[anatomical landmark]]s that define the extent of the leg. These landmarks are the [[anterior superior iliac spine]], the [[greater trochanter]], the superior margin of the [[medial condyle of tibia]], and the [[medial malleolus]].<ref>''Thieme Atlas of Anatomy'' (2006), p. 361</ref> Notable exceptions to palpation are the [[hip joint]], and the [[femur neck|neck]] and [[body of femur|body, or shaft]] of the femur.

Usually, the large [[joint]]s of the lower limb are aligned in a straight line, which represents the mechanical longitudinal axis of the leg, the [[Jan Mikulicz-Radecki|Mikulicz]] line. This line stretches from the [[hip joint]] (or more precisely the [[femur head|head of the femur]]), through the [[knee joint]] (the [[intercondylar eminence]] of the tibia), and down to the center of the [[ankle]] (the ankle mortise, the fork-like grip between the [[medial malleolus|medial]] and [[lateral malleolus|lateral malleoli]]). In the [[Body of tibia|tibial shaft]], the mechanical and anatomical axes coincide, but in the [[Body of femur|femoral shaft]] they diverge 6°, resulting in the ''femorotibial angle'' of 174° in a leg with normal axial alignment. A leg is considered straight when, with the feet brought together, both the medial malleoli of the ankle and the medial condyles of the knee are touching. Divergence from the normal femorotibial angle is called [[genu varum]] if the center of the knee joint is lateral to the mechanical axis (intermalleolar distance exceeds 3&nbsp;cm), and [[genu valgum]] if it is medial to the mechanical axis (intercondylar distance exceeds 5&nbsp;cm). These conditions impose unbalanced loads on the joints and stretching of either the thigh's adductors and abductors.<ref>''Thieme Atlas of Anatomy'' (2006), p. 362</ref>

The angle of inclination formed between the neck and shaft of the femur (collodiaphysial angle) varies with age—about 150° in the newborn, it gradually decreases to 126–128° in adults, to reach 120° in old age. Pathological changes in this angle result in abnormal posture of the leg: a small angle produces [[coxa vara]] and a large angle [[coxa valga]]; the latter is usually combined with genu varum, and coxa vara leads genu valgum. Additionally, a line drawn through the femoral neck superimposed on a line drawn through the femoral condyles forms an angle, the ''torsion'' angle, which makes it possible for flexion movements of the hip joint to be transposed into rotary movements of the femoral head. Abnormally increased torsion angles result in a limb turned inward and a decreased angle in a limb turned outward; both cases resulting in a reduced range of a person's mobility.<ref name="Platzer-196">Platzer (2004), p. 196</ref>