The Structure and Function of the Proximal End of the Femur

The familiar outline ofthe proximal end ofthe femur is characterised by its almost spherical head, slightly flattened neck and two trochanters with their communicating intertrochanteric ridge (Fig. 1 ). Frontal section of the uppermost third of the femur shows the powerful cortex and fragile medulla of the shaft (Fig. 2). Above the lesser trochanter this arrangement is reversed, and a thin cortical shell clothes the dense arrangement of cancellous bone which forms the internal weight-bearing system in the neck and head (Fig. 3).