tibiae

Noun

tibia (plural tibias or tibiae)

1. The inner and usually the larger of the two bones of the leg or hind limb below the knee, the shinbone.
   • Her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) are torn and Vonn has a lateral fracture of the tibial plateau, the upper end of the tibia or shin bone.2013 February 6, Jen Christiensen, “Vonn’s injury ‘career-delayer,’ not ‘career ender’”, in CNN
2. The second segment from the end of an insect's leg, between the femur and tarsus.
3. The third segment from the end of an arachnid's leg, between the patella and metatarsus.
4. A musical instrument of the flute kind, originally made of the leg bone of an animal.
   • The musician on the left is playing the zampogna, a bagpipe with two chanters and two drones. The zampogna is thought to be the bag-provided descendant of the ancient mouth-blown divergent pipes of the Romans, known as the tibia.1975, Francis M. Collinson, The bagpipe: the history of a musical instrument, page 188