This smooth, thick ridge of bone forms the posterior junction of the femoral neck and shaft. It runs obliquely from the posterosuperior angle of the greater trochanter to the lesser trochanter. Near the center of the crest is a small tubercle for the attachment of the quadratus femoris muscle.

The Latin term inter means between. The word trochanter is derived from the Greek words trechein to run and trochos meaning wheel. Galen originally applied this term to the head of the femur because it resembled a wheel as it turned in the acetabular socket. The term was later transferred to the other adjacent bony projections at the proximal end of the femur, probably in reference to their attachment site for muscles that produce rotary movements of this bone. The landmark then refers to the crest between the trochanters.

Criosta intertrochanterica

Crête intertrochantérique