Femur in Spanish

Where is the femur?

MedlinePlus says that the thigh bone is called the femur. The Real Academia Española dictionary places it more exactly: it is the bone that forms the skeleton of the thigh, articulating above with the iliac bone (hueso ilíaco) and below with the tibia and the kneecap (rótula). MedlinePlus describes the neck of the femur as the part just below the top of the bone.

Femur fractures

Hip fracture surgery is done to repair a break in the upper part of the thigh bone. For a femur fracture, MedlinePlus describes a surgery called open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF); in the most common version the surgeon inserts a rod or large nail into the center of the bone, and the rod helps support the bone until it heals. The surgeon may also put a plate next to the bone that is attached by screws.

What it means

The femur is the thigh bone. MedlinePlus states that the thigh bone is called the femur and, on another page, that the femur in the leg is also called the thigh bone. The Real Academia Española dictionary defines the Spanish word, fémur, as the bone that forms the skeleton of the thigh and that articulates above with the iliac bone and below with the tibia and the kneecap. Hip fracture surgery is done to repair a break in the upper part of the thigh bone, and in the most common surgery to repair a femur fracture the surgeon inserts a rod or large nail into the center of the bone. MedlinePlus says recovery from that repair most often takes 4 to 6 months.

Femur in Spanish

Spanish term: Fémur
Gender and article: masculine: el fémur
Pronunciation: FEH-moor

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
hueso del muslo	General	Name MedlinePlus en español uses for the same bone ("thigh bone") before giving the word fémur.

Fémur is spelled with a written accent on the é in Spanish; the English word has none. The Real Academia Española dictionary enters it as a masculine noun from Latin femur, so it takes el: el fémur, del fémur. MedlinePlus en español explains it with the name hueso del muslo (thigh bone): hip fracture surgery repairs a break in the upper part of the hueso del muslo, and "este hueso se denomina fémur."

For a femur fracture MedlinePlus en español writes fractura femoral, using the adjective femoral, and glosses fractura with ruptura (break). Other words from the same pages: cadera (hip), pierna (leg), varilla (rod), clavo (nail), placa (plate), tornillos (screws), muletas (crutches) and caminador (walker). The RAE definition adds muslo (thigh), tibia and rótula (kneecap).

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I fell, and I have a lot of pain in my thigh. I can't put weight on my leg.	Me caí y tengo mucho dolor en el muslo. No puedo poner peso sobre la pierna.
Clinician	We are going to take an X-ray of your femur.	Vamos a hacerle una radiografía del fémur.
Clinician	The X-ray shows a fracture in the femur, the thigh bone.	La radiografía muestra una fractura en el fémur, el hueso del muslo.
Patient	Will I need surgery?	¿Voy a necesitar cirugía?
Clinician	The surgeon may put a rod inside the bone to support it until it heals.	Es posible que el cirujano coloque una varilla dentro del hueso para sostenerlo hasta que sane.
Patient	How long does recovery take?	¿Cuánto tarda la recuperación?
Patient	When can I start putting weight on my leg?	¿Cuándo puedo empezar a poner peso sobre la pierna?
Patient	I have a rod in my leg from a femur fracture two years ago.	Tengo una varilla en la pierna por una fractura de fémur de hace dos años.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Femur
Spanish (Español)	Fémur
Chinese (中文)	股骨
Korean (한국어)	대퇴골
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Xương đùi
Filipino (Tagalog)	Femur (buto ng hita)
Portuguese (Português)	Fêmur
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	กระดูกต้นขา
Japanese (日本語)	大腿骨

Where you'll see it

radiology reportoperative reportdischarge summarymedical record

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Bones, joints and muscles

All terms in this area: Bones, joints and muscles — Huesos, articulaciones y músculos

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.