Long bones
   
Long bones

A long bone is a bone that has a shaft and 2 ends and is longer than it is wide. Long bones have a thick outside layer of compact bone and an inner medullary cavity containing bone marrow. The ends of a long bone contain spongy bone and an epiphyseal line. The epiphyseal line is a remnant of an area that contained hyaline cartilage that grew during childhood to lengthen the bone. All of the bones in the arms and legs, except the patella, and bones of the wrist, and ankle, are long bones.

Review Date: 7/8/2023
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language. © 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
© 1997- adam.comAll rights reserved.
 
A.D.A.M. content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.