A treatise on orthopedic surgery . incline slightly inward to the knees, forming an angle at theknee, opening outward, of about 172 degrees. This angle varieswith the breadth of the pelvis, and it is, therefore, less in adultfemales than in males (Figs. 398 and 399). The internal con-dyle of the femur is slightly longer than the external; thus the 602 ORTHOPEDIC SUBGEBT. inclination of the femur is compensated and the plane of theknee-joint is horizontal, Symptoms.^—When the inward projection of the knees is in-creased to a noticeable degree the tibise are no longer perpen-dicular; their upper
A treatise on orthopedic surgery . incline slightly inward to the knees, forming an angle at theknee, opening outward, of about 172 degrees. This angle varieswith the breadth of the pelvis, and it is, therefore, less in adultfemales than in males (Figs. 398 and 399). The internal con-dyle of the femur is slightly longer than the external; thus the 602 ORTHOPEDIC SUBGEBT. inclination of the femur is compensated and the plane of theknee-joint is horizontal, Symptoms.^—When the inward projection of the knees is in-creased to a noticeable degree the tibise are no longer perpen-dicular; their upper extremities incline inward so that in theerect posture the feet are separated when the knees are in con- FiG. Adolescent knock-knee. Deformity most marked in tlie tibiae. (See Fig. 403.) tact (Fig. 400). In the slighter grades of knock-knee, whichare due in great degree to laxity of the ligaments, the deformityis apparent only when the weight of the body is borne, but inmore marked cases, although the distortion is increased by theweight of the body, it cannot be overcome when this is removed,because it depends upon actual changes in the shape of thebones themselves. As has been stated, the normal inward inclination of the femur DEFOEMITIES OF BONES OF LOWER EXTREMITY. 603 is compensated by the greater length of the internal condyle,and in the deformity of knock-knee the plane of the knee-jointis still preserved by an apparent elongation of the inner con-dyle. Formerly it was supposed that there was an actual over-growth of this part of the epiphysis which caused the deformity,but the observations of Mikulicz and Macewen have shown thatthis apparent lengthening is in reality due in great part
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