Your 80 year old grandmother falls in the driveway of her house. She is rushed to the emergency room of the local hospital. Upon examination the emergency room physician notes the following:
• The lower right limb is externally rotated and she is unable to lift her right heel off of the stretcher.
• The right limb is shorter which is confirmed by measuring the distance between the anterior iliac spinal and the distal tip of the medial malleolus of the tibia of both legs.
• The greater trochanter appears to be higher and more prominent on the right side.
• Palpation on the anterior and lateral surface of the hip is very painful.
• X-rays revealed a fracture of the neck of the femur
1. What are the anatomical characteristics of the bones of the lower limb?
2. What anatomical landmarks are mentioned in the case study? Where would you find these landmarks in the hip bones, femur and tibia?
3. What are the anatomical and movement characteristics of the hip joint?
4. What muscles would be involved in external rotation of the hip? What muscles would be involved in flexion of the hip?