7-410: A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element capable of changing length and rotating about an omnidirectional "hip" joint. As an anatomical animal structure, it is used for locomotion . The distal end
14-439: Is often modified to distribute force (such as a foot ). Most animals have an even number of legs. As a component of furniture, it is used for the economy of materials needed to provide the support for the useful surface, such as the table top or chair seat. Many taxa are characterized by the number of legs: A leg is a structure of gross anatomy , meaning that it is large enough to be seen unaided. The components depend on
21-445: The hip joint or other place where the leg attaches to the main body may be considered separate or part of the leg. In tetrapod anatomy , leg is used to refer to the entire limb . In human medicine, the precise definition refers only to the segment between the knee and the ankle . This lower segment is also called the shank , and the front (anterior) of the segment is called the shin or pretibia . In bipedal tetrapods ,
28-423: The animal. In humans and other mammals, a leg includes the bones , muscles , tendons , ligaments , blood vessels , nerves , and skin . In insects , the leg includes most of these things, except that insects have an exoskeleton that replaces the function of both the bones and the skin. Sometimes the end of the leg, or foot , is considered part of the leg; other times it is considered separate. Similarly,
35-463: The form of an electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into motion. A prosthetic leg is an artificial leg that is used to replace one that has been lost. Weight-bearing In orthopedics , weight-bearing is the amount of weight a patient puts on an injured body part. Generally, it refers to a leg, ankle or foot that has been fractured or upon which surgery has been performed, but
42-524: The term can also be used to refer to resting on an arm or a wrist. In general, it is described as a percentage of the body weight, because each leg of a healthy person carries the full body weight when walking, in an alternating fashion. After surgery of the hip, or of the bones of the leg, ankle, or foot, it is of the utmost importance for recovery to get the right amount of weight-bearing when moving around with crutches or frames. The grades of weight bearing for each phase of recovery will be determined by
49-415: The two lower limbs are referred to as the "legs" and the two upper limbs as "arms" or "wings" as the case may be. In quadrupedal tetrapods, the limbs are generally called forelegs, fore legs or front legs and hindlegs, hind legs or back legs. A robotic leg is moved by an actuator , which is a type of motor for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, usually in
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