What is the name of the shinbone?

The shinbone is called the tibia. It is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the lower leg, running from the knee to the ankle on the inner side of the leg.

The tibia bears much of the body's weight. At its upper end, it forms the lower part of the knee joint with the femur and helps support the kneecap through the patellar ligament. At its lower end, it contributes to the ankle joint and forms the prominent inner ankle bump known as the medial malleolus.

A common mix-up is the fibula, the thinner bone that runs alongside the tibia on the outer side of the lower leg. The femur is the thighbone, while the patella is the kneecap. The tibia is the second-largest bone in the human body, after the femur. Its name comes from the Latin word for a flute, because ancient flutes were sometimes made from leg bones.