Tibia
Tibia
- Latin synonym: Os tibiale
- Synonym: Tibial bone; Tibial bone
Definition
The tibia is situated at the medial side of the leg, and, excepting the femur, is the longest bone of the skeleton.
It is prismoid in form, expanded above, where it enters into the knee-joint, contracted in the lower third, and again enlarged but to a lesser extent below. In the male, its direction is vertical, and parallel with the bone of the opposite side; but in the female it has a slightly oblique direction downward and lateralward, to compensate for the greater obliquity of the femur. It has a body and two extremities.