LEFTWICH, JOEL, 1759-1846; b. in Bedford co., Va.; was a soldier in the revolu tionary war, fighting gallantly at Germantown, Camden, and Guilford, and being severely Wounded at the latter place. In the war of 1812 lie commanded a brigade under gen. Harrison at fort Meigs; was afterwards a maj.gcu. of militia, and frequently a member of the Virginia legislature.
LEG, Tim, comprises all that part of the lower extremity which lies between the knee and the ankle. It consists of two bones, the tibia and fibula (see SKELETON and FooT), and of masses of muscles (together with nerves and vessels) which are held in their position by coverings of fascia, and are enveloped in the general integument.
The shaft of the tibia is of a triangular prismoid form, and presents three surfaces and three borders. The internal surface is smooth, convex, and broader above than below; except at its upper third, it lies directly under the skin, and may be readily traced by the band. The external and the posterior surfaces are covered by numerous muscles. The muscular mass forming the calf (formed by the gastrocnemius, coleus, and plantaris muscles) is peculiar to man, ands directly connected with his erect attitude and his ordinary mode of progression. The anterior border of the tibia, the most prominent of the three, is popularly known as the and may be traced down to the inner ankle.
The fibula, or small bone of the leg, lies on the outer surface of the tibia, and articu lates with its upper and lower extremities, and with the astragalus inferiorly. It
affords attachments to many of the muscles of this region.
This region is nourished by the anterior and posterior tibial arteries into which the popliteal artery separates. Both these arteries occasionally require to be tied by the surgeon in cases of wounds or aneurism. The blood is returned towards the heart by two sets of veins—the deep, which accompany the arteries, and the superficial, which are known as the internal or long saphenous, and the external or short saphenous veins. These superficial veins are very liable to become permanently dilated or varicose (a condition the nature and treatment of which are considered in the article VARICOSE VEINS), if there is any impediment to the free transmission of the blood, or even from the mere weight of the ascending column of blood, in persons whose occupation requires continuous standing. • The nerves of the leg, both sensory and motor, are derived from the great sciatic nerve and from its terminal branches, the internal popliteal and the external popliteal or nerve.
In cases of fracture leg, the two bones are more frequently broken together than singly, and the most common situation is at the lower third. The tibia is more often broken by itself than the fibula, in consequence of its sustaining the whole weight of the body, while the fibula has nothing to support.