Medical Illustrations

To the layperson, the leg is the part of the body that extends from the foot to the top of the thigh. Medically speaking, the leg is comprised of the area from the knee down to the ankle.

Two long bones, known as the tibia and fibula, make up the legs. The tibia is the larger bone and is more commonly known as the shinbone. “Tibia” is Latin, meaning bone flute and shinbone. Flutes were once made from the tibia of animals.

The fibula runs parallel to the tibia. "Fibula" is a Latin word meaning a brooch or clasp. It was so named because the fibula attaches to the tibia like a clasp.

A variety of conditions may affect the legs, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT), edema, restless legs syndrome (RLS), shin splints, spider veins, claudication, and more.