The leg iscomposedof fivedistinctsections:upper leg,knee, lowerleg, ankle,and foot.

The
upperlegbeginsat the hipandcontinuesdown to theknee. Theonly bonein thisregion isthe femur
,thelargestbone in thebody. Thefemur’sheadcreates theball of theball-and-socket-style hijoint. The
base of thefemurmakes uppart of theknee.The majormuscles inthe upperleg are
thehamstringsandquadriceps.Thehamstringsare threemuscles atthe back ofthe thighthat
affecthipandkneemovement.Thequadriceps—thestrongestand leanestmuscles inthe body—are
afour-musclegroup atthe front ofthe thighthat workto extendthe kneeand lowerleg.
TheThe knee isa pivot-likehinge jointin the legthatconnectsthe bonesin the upperand lowerleg. It
is thelargest jointin thehumabody. Theknee iswhere thefemur inthe upperleg meetswith thetibia
andfibulabones inthe lowerleg.Anotherbone, thepatella orkneecap, isat thecenter ofthe knee.The
kneejoint iscomposedofnumeroustendons,ligaments,andprotectiveelementssuch ascartilage and
bursa.Theseconnectiveandprotectivetissueskeep thebones inplace andpreventthem
fromgrindingagainsteach otherwhileallowingthe kneejoint to fleand twist slightly.The
lowerlegcontainstwo bones.The tibia isthe secondlargestbone in theleg. Itmeets thefemur
tocreatetheknee. Thefibula , theother bonein the lowerleg, iconnectedto the tibia below
thekneejoint.There areabout 20muscles inthe lowerleg. Thesedoeverythingfromhelping toraise
thelower leg towigglingthe toes.Manymusclesthat powerfootmovementsbegin ashigh up
asthebackofthe kneeand extenddown to thefoot.Possiblythe mostimportantstructure inthe
lowerlegis theAchillestendon . Itconnectsthreemuscles—theplantaris,calf, andsoleus—tothe
heelbone. Itstores theelasticenergyneeded forrunning,jumping,and otherphysicalactivity.The
ankleis wherethe tibiaand fibulameet thefoot.Containingsevenbones
andnumerousotherstructures,the anklerotates andflexes thfoot,
whichisimportantformovementandbalanceThe foot isa complestructuremade ofmore than26
bonesand 33joints at thelowestportion ofthe leg. Thestructure ofthe foot issimilar tothat of
thehand, butbecausethe footbears moreweight, it isstrongeryet lessmoveable.