Femur
Also called: thigh bone, femur bone
What it means
The femur, or thigh bone, is the longest and strongest bone in the body, stretching from the hip to the knee and supporting your weight during standing and walking.
The femur, especially its neck near the hip, is a common fracture site in osteoporosis, so keeping it strong matters for staying mobile and independent.
The femur is the long bone of the thigh, running from the hip joint down to the knee. It's the largest and strongest bone in your body, built to carry your weight with every step, stand, and stair climb. Doctors often focus on two parts of the femur when checking bone health: the femoral neck, the angled area near the hip joint, and the femoral shaft, the long straight middle section.
Inside the femur, bone tissue is arranged to match the forces it handles every day. Dense trabecular struts line up along the directions of squeezing and pulling, somewhat like support beams in a building. As bone ages or weakens, these struts can thin or lose their alignment, making the bone less strong even if overall density hasn't dropped as much.
The femoral neck is a common site for hip fractures. DEXA scans commonly measure bone density at the femur and spine, and researchers have also studied newer tools, like REMS, as possible additional ways to look at bone health at these same sites. Keeping the femur strong matters because a hip fracture here can seriously affect mobility and independence later in life.
How sure is this?
Graded Strong Clinical Evidence: Supported by multiple well-designed clinical studies in humans. Read each study with its grade in mind. One study is a piece of the picture, not the whole of it.
The femur is your body's longest, strongest bone, but its neck near the hip is a common fracture site.
Where this leads
WordThe femur has more notable landmarks than just the neck. Learn about the bony bump people often land on during a sideways fall.
Where the Academy teaches it
This page is the short version. The lessons teach it in full, with the context around it and a quiz to lock it in.
Related words
The femoral neck is the angled part of bone joining your hip ball to your thigh bone shaft, and it's the most common…
The femoral head is the rounded, ball-shaped top of the thighbone (femur) that fits into the hip socket to form the…
The femoral shaft is the long middle part of the thighbone (femur), connecting the hip end to the knee end.
The greater trochanter is the bony bump on the outer side of your upper thigh, part of the femur (thighbone), where…
A hip fracture is a break at the femoral neck, the narrow part of bone connecting the hip joint ball to the thigh…
A DEXA scan is a low-radiation X-ray test that measures how much mineral is in your hip and spine bones, giving you…
Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
