§ I.
1. The os femoris, being in man, a moveable support for the weight of
the whole body, appears to be better secured than the other bones, from
accidents that might affect its continuity. The numerous masses of
muscle that immediately surround it; the thick and compact layers or
fasciæ that form its more exterior covering; and an articulation loose,
and ready to yield, in every direction, to the motions impressed on it,
all seem, on the one hand, calculated for its preservation.
2. But, on the other hand, being visibly curved in its middle, bent at
its upper end almost at a right angle, longer in proportion in man than
in quadrupeds, placed, in most falls, between the ground which resists,
and the weight of the body which presses on it; it would seem, from
these latter circumstances, to be less calculated to resist external
force. And, if to these considerations be added those of the causes
which have an immediate action on it, it will be easy to perceive,
that, in a comparative scale of the bones most exposed to fractures,
it holds, next to the bones of the leg, one of the highest grades. The
proportion which its fractures bear to those of the leg, is, according
to the observations of Desault, as one to three; but to that of most
other bones it is equal if not superior.
3. The os femoris, being in its body irregularly cylindrical and curved
behind, becomes larger towards its lower end, where it terminates in
two articulating masses, which rest immediately on two corresponding
surfaces of the os tibiæ; changing its direction above, it inclines
towards the acetabulum, and inserts into that cavity a round head,
supported by a neck which is entirely enclosed in the capsule of the
joint.
4. From this different conformation of its different parts, arises
such a variety in the fractures which occur in it, that they cannot be
treated of under the same head. Hence the division into fractures of
the body and of the extremities, which is borrowed from anatomists, and
will be followed in the present memoir, where we will consider in order,
1st, The fractures of its body,
2dly, Those of its upper extremity,
3dly, Those of its lower extremity.