Leg

(anatomy) The lower extremity of a human limb, between the knee and the ankle.
(computer science) The sequence of instructions that is followed in a computer routine from one branch point to the next.
(engineering) Anything that functionally or structurally resembles an animal leg. One of the branches of a forked or jointed object. One of the main upright members of a drill derrick or tripod.
(geophysics) A single cycle of more or less periodic motion in a wave train on a seismogram.
(mathematics) Either side adjacent to the right angle of a right triangle.
(mechanical engineering) The case that encloses the vertical part of the belt carrying the buckets within a grain elevator.
(metallurgy) In a fillet weld, the distance between the root and the toe.
(mining engineering) In mine timbering, a prop or upright member of a set or frame. A stone that has to be wedged out from beneath a larger one.
(navigation) One part of a craft's track, consisting of a single course line. A track identified by an aid to navigation.
(zoology) An appendage or limb used for support and locomotion.

For other uses, see Leg (disambiguation).

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Diagram of an insect leg

A leg is a limb on a organisim's body that supports the rest of the animal above the ground between the ankle and the hip and is used for locomotion. The end of the leg farthest from the animal's body is often either modified or attached to another structure that is modified to disperse the animal's weight on the ground (see foot). In bipedal vertebrate animals, the two lower limbs are usually referred to as the 'legs' and the two upper limbs as the 'arms' or 'wings' as the case may be.

In the anatomy of vertebrates, including human beings (see human leg), leg is also used to refer to the entire limb, but its precise definition refers^[1][2][3] only to the segment between the knee and the ankle. In vertebrate and human anatomy this segment is also called the shank,^[4][5] and the front (anterior) of the segment is called the shin or pretibia.

Most animals have an even number of legs. Many taxonomic groups are characterized by the number of legs their members possess.

• Uniped: 1
• Biped: 2
• Tripedal: 3
• Quadruped: 4
• Arthropoda: 4, 6 (Insects), 8, 12, or 14
  • Some arthropods have more than a dozen legs; a few species possess over 100. Despite what their names might suggest,
    • Centipedes may have less than 20 or over 300 legs.
    • Millipedes have fewer than 1,000 legs, but up to 750.

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Notes

1. ^ "Leg". Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). National Library of Medicine. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2007/MB_cgi?mode=&term=Leg&field=entry. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
2. ^ "leg". Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Healthcare Consumers. Elsevier. http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands_split.jsp?pg=/ppdocs/us/common/dorlands/dorland/five/000058188.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Dictionary leg
4. ^ Kardong, Kenneth V. (2009). Vertebrates: Comparative anatomy, function, evolution (5th. ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 340. ISBN 978-0-07-304058-5. 
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Dictionary shank

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