In human anatomy, the lesser trochanter is a conical, posteromedial, bony projection from the shaft of the femur.

[4] The position of the lesser trochanter close to the head of the femur is one of the defining characteristics of the Prozostrodontia, which is the clade of cynodonts including mammals and their closest non-mammaliform relatives.

It was erected as a node-based taxon as the least inclusive clade containing Prozostrodon brasiliensis, Tritylodon langaevus, Pachygenelus monus, and Mus musculus (the house mouse).

[5] All living mammals have a lesser trochanter, whose size, shape, and position is distinctive to their species.

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 245 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)