Royal Army Medical Corps training pamphlet / War Office.

Date:
1944
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Royal Army Medical Corps training pamphlet / War Office. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    30. The femur (Fig. 11) extends from the hip to the knee and is the largest and strongest bone in the body. Atits upper end is a rounded head which fits into the acetabulum of the innominate bone, forming the hip joint; below, the bone ‘expands into two broad prominences which, with the shin-bone and the knee-cap, form the knee joint. /31. The patella or knee-cap is a disc-shaped bone which lies in front of the knee joint. It acts as a pulley when the knee is being extended. 32. Bones of the leg and foot.—The leg, extending from the knee to the ankle, has two bones, a larger one lying on the inner side called the ¢tzbia or shin-bone, and a more slender bone on the outer side called the fibula. The construction of the foot is like that of the hand. It has three groups of bones:.the hinder part or tarsus, formed of seven short strong bones including the os calcis or heel-bone ; secondly, a row of five longer bones, the metatarsus, corre- sponding to the sole of the foot and instep ; and lastly, small bones named the phalanges, three for each of the four outer toes and two for the great toe (Fig. 11). The sole of the normal foot is arched, so that only the ball of the foot, the outer side, and the heel-bone touch the ground (Fig. 11). This gives spring in walking. In “flat foot” the arch is flattened, and the whole sole may rest on the ground. CHAPTER 3 THE MUSCLES AND THEIR WORK 33. The muscles form the red flesh of the body. They are made up of bundles of threads or fibres lying side by side enclosed in a.sheath. Whenever these fibres contract— whenever they become short and broad, instead of long and narrow—the ends of the muscle are brought closer together. If the ends are attached to bones, these bones will be brought closer together ; or if the muscle forms a circular band round a tube, such as an artery or the intestine, the bore of the tube will diminish. All movements in the body are achieved by the contraction of one or more muscles. The muscles contract in answer to messages reaching them through nerves. Each muscle is in communication with the brain, or with a local headquarters, through a nerve which