femorotibial (fem"orotibial)

[L. femur (fem or-), thigh, + tibia, tibia, + -al.] In en tom., situated between or common to the femur and tibia of an insect's leg: as, the femorotibial articulation. femur (fe'mer), n.; pl. femurs or femora (fē'mėrz, fem'ō-rä). [L., rare nom. fem us and fe men (stem fem or- and fem in- ), the thigh.] 1. The thigh.-2. In an at., the thigh-bone; the single long bone which extends along the thigh from the hip-joint to the knee-joint, articulating above with the pelvis, and below with the tibia, or the tibia and fibula. The human femur is the longest and largest bone in the body, having a nearly straight sub cylindric shaft with a rough ridge, the line a IMG:content-1209.png:[graphic] gtr n ltr IMG:content-1210.jpg:[blocks in formation] etu ec ic Fig. 1. ec Fig. 2. Fig. 1. Anterior View of Human Right Femur. ec , external condyle; etu , external tuberosity; ic , internal condyle; itu , internal tuberosity; Itr , le er trochanter; gtr , great trochanter; A, head; n, neck. Fig. 2. Posterior View of Left Femur of a Horse. h , head; gtr , great trochanter; ttr , third trochanter; Itr , le er trochanter;, pit for round ligament; itf , inter trochanteric fo a; a; d, a depre ion or fo a; etu , itu , external and internal tuberosities; cc, the two con dyles. The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: Dictionary femur aspera, along its posterior surface, bearing upon its upper extremity, by an oblique neck, a hemispherical head, and two trochanters, the greater and the le er, and expanding below into two large condyles, the inner and the outer, both of which articulate with the tibia, but neither with the fibula. The slenderne of the bone is beyond an average for mammals, though in some it is still slenderer. Many femora, as of the horse, develop a third trochanter, and also may articulate with both bones of the leg. The reception of the head of the femur in the acetabulum is such that it articulates above with all three of the pelvic bones, the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis. In birds the greater trochanter abuts against the ilium, and thus enters into the formation of the hip-joint. See also cuts under digitigrade, Dromæus, and Ichthyosauri a. 3. In entom., the thigh; the third joint of the leg, between the trochanter and the shank or tibia. See cut under corbiculum.-4t. In arch., the interstitial member between two channels in the triglyph of the Doric order. fen1 (fen), n. [ 2179 plicable to a wall, hedge, ditch or trench, bank, or anything that serves to guard against unrestricted ingre and egre , to obstruct the view, or merely as a tangible dividing line. By American statutes, boundary-fences between adjoining owners are usually required to be 4 feet high (in some States 41), and in good repair, and to consist of a suitable structure, or to be a watercourse or other barrier which the fence-viewers having jurisdiction shall deem sufficient. There is an innumerable multitude of very handsome bridges, all of a single arch, and without any fence on either side, which would be a great inconvenience to a city le sober than Venice. Add is on, Remarks on Italy (ed. Bohn), I. 388. Never peep beyond the thorny bound Or oaken fence that hems the paddock round. Cowper , Table-Talk, 1. 583. Like three horses that have broken fence, And glutted all night long breast-deep in corn. Tennyson, Prince , ii. Some horses, good performers over any other description of fence , will not jump water under any circumstances. Encyc. Brit., XII. 197. 3. A guard, guide, or gage designed to regulate or restrict the movement of a tool or machine. -4. An arm or a projection in a lock which enters the gates of the tumblers when they are adjusted in proper position and coincidence, and at other times prevents such movement of the dog or other obstructing member as would allow the bolt to be retracted. E. H. Knight . -5. The arm of the hammer-spring of a gunlock. E. H. Knight . -6. The art of self-defense, especially by the sword; fencing; skill in fencing or sword-play; hence, skill in ar Long fellow , Dismal Swamp. gument and repartee, especially adroitne in A long canal the muddy fen divides. In the dark fens of the Dismal Swamp The hunted negro lay. 2. Mud; mire. [Prov. Eng.] Thanne her bodies in the fen liggen, Thanne schulen her soul is be in drede. Add is on. Hymns to Virgin , etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 26. His hosen Al beslombred in fen , as he the plow folwed; Twey myteynes, as mete, maad all of cloutes; The fyngers weren for-werd, & ful of fen honged. Piers Plowman's Crede (E. E. T. S.), 1. 427. 3. A disease affecting hops, caused by a quick growing mo or mold. Imp. Dict. = Syn. 1. Swamp, etc. See marsh. fen2 (fen), v. t. [A corruption of fend1.] To forbid: same as fend1: used in this form by boys in marbles and other games, in an exclamatory way, to check or block, according to under stood rules, some move of an opposing player. It occurs in such phrases as " fen roundings!"- is, I forbid moving around in a circle (as a player might otherwise do in order to avoid some obstruction), " fen dubs!"that is, I forbid doubles (said when a player knocks two marbles out of the ring, one of which must then be put back). The phrase is properly used only by the opposing player, but through ignorance of its real meaning it may be used also by the player who knocks the marbles out, who thereby cuts off the opponent's right to object, and pockets both marbles. "Go before me, and show me all those dreadful places." "I am fly," says Jo. "But fen larks, you know. Stow hooking it!" Dickens , Bleak House, xvi. fen3t, n. [ME., fenn , art.] A section in the work of the Arabic physician Avicenna, called the Canon. I suppose that Avicen Wroot never in no canon, ne in no fen , Mo wonder signes of empoisoning. defending one's position and baffling an opponent's attacks. I bruised my shin the other day with playing at sword and dagger with a master of fence . Shak., M. W. of W., i. 1. Enjoy your dear wit, and gay rhetorick, That hath so well been taught her dazzling fence . Milton , Comus, 1. 791. 7. A purchaser or receiver of stolen goods; the keeper of a place for the purchase or reception of stolen goods, or the place itself. What have you got to say for yourself, you withered old fence, eh? Dickens, Oliver Twist, xxxix. The landlady of the "Three Rooks" was a notorious fence , or banker of thieves. Thackeray, Catharine, vii. 8. An inclosure in which fish are dried, cured, and prepared. - Cap of fence. See cap1.-Coat of fence. See coat2. - Doublet of fencet. See doublet.Gun fence, a fence built of rails, with one end resting upon the ground, the other supported by two cro ed stakes. Ring fence, a fence which encircles unbrokenly a large area, as that of a whole estate. - Snake fence, a fence made of split rails laid zigzag, with the ends resting on each other, and often supported by rough posts in pairs driven slantingly into the ground. Also called stake - and-rider fence, Virginia rail fence, worm fence. [U. S.]-Sunk fence, a fence built in an artificial or natural depre ion of the ground, as a ditch or a watercourse, so that it does not project above the general surface. They [rooks] flew over the lawn and grounds to alight in a great meadow, from which these were separated by a Charlotte Brontë , Jane Eyre, xi. sunk fence. To be on the fence, to be uncertain or undecided (as if astride of a fence, hesitating on which side to descend), as between two opinions; be neutral or undecided, as be Chaucer, Pardoner's Tale, 1. 428. tween parties or persons. [U. S.]