Intro to the lower limb

Question 1

(use the pdf for pics)

what are the names of the common bones in the lower limb?

Answer 1

Pelvis, femur, patella, fibula and Tibia

Question 2

Bones have many features such as lumps, bumps and holes which give them their characteristic shapes. These features have an important function, what is it?

Answer 2

Providing attachments for muscles or pathways for neurovascular structures.

Question 3

Many of these structures can be seen or felt on a
living patient, and so can act as landmarks for
structures we can’t see or feel.
For example, you’d probably struggle to identify
your posterior tibial artery by just poking your
leg (have a go if you don’t believe me).
But, if you know that the artery passes posterior
to the medial malleolus (the prominent bump on
the medial aspect of your ankle), it makes it
much easier to find.
The bony landmarks have a variety of weird and
wonderful names, but there are some general
rules that can help you…

Answer 3

LOOK AT PICTURE

Question 4

Name and define some of the bony landmarks

pic

Answer 4

Foramen:
– a hole in a bone.

Fossa:
– this is the name for a shallow
depression or crater.

Spine:
– a sharp, raised region.

Tuberosity, tubercle, trochanter:
– essentially
three different names for the same thing; a
raised bump for the attachment of muscles or
ligaments

Question 5

what are the 3 major joints in the lower limb?

Answer 5

The hip, knee and ankle

The most important things to know are the
anatomical movements you can normally
perform at each joint.
But you’ll also need to learn their normal range
of movement. For example, extension of the
knee is a normal anatomical movement.
However, extension beyond the anatomical
position is definitely not

Question 6

Why is it good to remember the location of a muscle (and the joints that it crosses)?

Answer 6

You can work out what actions it will have.

look at pdf notes of muscles

Question 7

The somatic nervous system consists of 2 groups of fibres. What are they?

Answer 7

efferent fibres
that exit the spinal cord to innervate (provide
nerve supply to) our muscles and afferent fibres
that arrive back with sensory information from
our skin.

Most nerves in the lower limb carry both types of
fibres, so you’ll need to learn which muscles they
control and the areas of skin they supply.

Question 8

The arteries generally lie deep within the body,
forming a continuous network from the heart to
every part of the limb. Often these are named
after a bone that they’re close to, e.g. the
femoral artery runs alongside the femur.

As well as learning the arteries’ names, you’ll
also need to learn which areas they supply blood
to and (where possible) the pulse points that
allow you to assess blood flow within them.

Answer 8

The veins of the lower limb run in two groups:
deep and superficial.
Deep veins generally follow the course of the
arteries (although running in the opposite
direction!) and have the same name.

Superficial veins (the veins we can see just under
our skin) are much more variable, and only a few
large, consistent ones are named. Blood in the
superficial veins must drain into the deep veins
before it can be returned to the heart.

Often a nerve, artery and vein will all be
supplying the same structure and so travel
together, forming a neurovascular bundle.