Contents
- Name of bone
- Location/Articulation
- Muscle and ligament attachments
- Surface anatomy
- Radiography
- Physical examination
- Embryology
- Anomalies
- Injuries/Disorders
Name of bone
Tibia
Location/Articulation
The tibia, also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee, and it connects to the knee with the ankle bones. It is named for the Greek aulos flute, also known as a tibia. The tibia is commonly recognized as the strongest weight-bearing bone in the body.
Muscle and ligament attachments
Surface anatomy
The tibia is found medial and anterior to the fibula. It is the second-largest bone in the human body, the largest being the femur. The tibia articulates with the femur and patella superiorly, the fibula laterally, and with the talus inferiorly.
Figure 1. Anatomy of the tibia
Gender differences
In males, the tibia’s direction is vertical and parallel with the bone of the opposite side. In females, the tibia has a slightly oblique direction downward and lateralward, to compensate for the greater obliqueness of the femur.
Structure
The tibia 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. The superior tibiofibular articulation is an arthrodial joint between the lateral condyle of the tibia and the head of the fibula. The inferior tibiofibular articulation (tibiofibular syndesmosis) is formed by the rough, convex surface of the medial side of the lower end of the fibula, and a rough concave surface on the lateral side of the tibia. The tibia is connected to the fibula by an interosseous membrane, forming a type of joint called a syndesmoses.
Blood supply
The tibia receives its arterial blood supply from two sources: the nutrient artery (main source) and the periosteal vessels derived from the anterior tibial arter.
Radiography
Physical examination
Embryology
Anomalies
Injuries/Disorders
- Tibia fracture
