"Pata" and "Pierna"

Question

Is pierna used when refeering to a human leg only, and is pata used when referring to like the leg of a chair?

Answer 1

pata can also be used to describe the leg of an animal as well as that of a chair as you correctly state, for example in the butchers a leg of pork would be described as 'pata de cerdo'

Answer 2

Nearly right (see leg of lamb) most dictionaries will give you a pretty good idea

Leg

leg /leg/ sustantivo (Anat) (of person) pierna f;

(of animal, bird) pata f;

to pull sb's ~ (colloq) tomarle el pelo a algn (fam)

(Culin) (of lamb, pork) pierna f;

(of chicken) pata f, muslo m

(Clothing) pierna f

(of chair, table) pata f

Answer 3

As Crazy hints, "pata" is often used as slang for "pierna" - a little like "hooves" is sometimes jokingly used in English instead of "feet".

"¿Qué te pasa?" "Es que ando con la pata adolorida".

"Get your stinking hooves off my table!!"

Answer 4

There is also the idiom "To put your foot in your mouth" (to say something inappropriate).

In Spanish it's "Meter la pata."