The upper part of the human leg, the thigh, is supported by the femur-the longest and strongest bone of the body. The upper end of the femur is rounded and fits into a cavity in the hip bone, forming a ball-and-socket joint. Ball-and-socket joints permit circular motion, and the hip joint allows the leg to move freely in almost any direction. This joint also helps distribute body weight evenly over the head of the femur. At the knee, the femur connects to the tibia, or shinbone, to form a hinge joint. Hinge joints permit back-

The gluteus maximus is a large, wide muscle that covers the back of the hip joint and comprises the buttocks. It extends and rotates the leg, and is one of four major muscles of the thigh. The other major thigh muscles are the sartorius, the quadriceps, and the hamstring. The sartorius, the longest muscle in the body, runs from the hipbone diagonally across the front of the thigh to the inside of the knee, and bends the leg at both the hip and the knee. The quadriceps, comprised of four muscles that cover the front of the thigh, straighten the leg at the knee. The hamstrings, three large muscles at the back of the thigh, bend the knee and rotate the leg from side to side. Each hamstring muscle is attached to the tibia by a hamstring tendon, which may be felt near the back of the knee.

The tibia is o

Some common words found in the essay are:
, lower leg, hip joint, leg gastrocnemius, muscles thigh, joint tibia, joints permit, gastrocnemius soleus, thigh major, front leg, front thigh,
Approximate Word count = 543
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)