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Related Concept Videos

Muscles that Move the Leg01:23

Muscles that Move the Leg

The movement of the legs is facilitated by numerous muscles located within the anterior, medial, and posterior compartments of the thigh.
Anterior Compartment
The quadriceps femoris, the most visible muscle of the anterior compartment, is integral for leg extension and thigh flexion. It is formed by merging four distinct muscles — the vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, and rectus femoris. The quadriceps tendon, a shared tendon of the four quadriceps muscles, is affixed to...
Muscles that Move the Thigh01:20

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The thigh's motion is primarily governed by muscles originating in the pelvic girdle and inserted into the femur. One crucial muscle, the iliopsoas, is a combination of the psoas major and the iliacus muscles, sharing a common insertion point on the lesser trochanter of the femur.
Three other significant muscles are the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. The gluteus maximus originates from the posterior surface of the ilium, sacrum, and coccyx, and the thoracolumbar fascia...
Bones of the Lower Limb: Femur and Patella01:16

Bones of the Lower Limb: Femur and Patella

The femur is the body's longest and strongest bone spanning the thigh region. Its head articulates with the acetabulum of the hip bone to form the hip joint. A minor indentation on the medial side of the femoral head, called the fovea capitis, serves as the site of attachment for the ligament of the head of the femur. This weak ligament spans the femur and acetabulum and supports the hip joint. The narrowed region below the head is the neck of the femur. The inclination angle between the neck...
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Naming Skeletal Muscles01:19

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The naming of the approximately 700 muscles in the human body is based on a set of criteria designed to provide descriptive information about each muscle, making it easier to identify and remember them.
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Fascicle Arrangement in Skeletal Muscles01:25

Fascicle Arrangement in Skeletal Muscles

Fascicles are bundles of muscle fibers in a skeletal muscle. Muscle fascicle arrangement is directly associated with the power and range of motion of various muscles. The configuration of these fascicles can vary, leading to different functional outcomes.
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Muscle Imbalances: Testing and Training Functional Eccentric Hamstring Strength in Athletic Populations
07:30

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Published on: May 1, 2018

Architectural differences between the hamstring muscles.

Eleftherios Kellis1, Nikiforos Galanis, George Kapetanos

  • 1Laboratory of Neuromechanics, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at Serres, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Serres, Greece. ekellis@phed-sr.auth.gr

Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology : Official Journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology
|May 9, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Human hamstring muscles, including biceps femoris (BF), semimembranosus (SM), and semitendinosus (ST), exhibit distinct architectural designs. Understanding these differences is crucial for accurate functional modeling.

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Area of Science:

  • Human anatomy
  • Biomechanics
  • Muscle physiology

Background:

  • The hamstring muscle group is essential for locomotion and athletic performance.
  • Detailed architectural properties of individual hamstring muscles are not fully understood.
  • Previous models often treat hamstrings as a uniform unit, potentially oversimplifying function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the detailed architectural characteristics of the human hamstring muscles.
  • To quantify the similarity and differences between the four main hamstring muscles.
  • To inform more accurate functional models of the human hamstring group.

Main Methods:

  • Dissection and architectural analysis of biceps femoris long head (BFlh), biceps femoris short head (BFsh), semimembranosus (SM), and semitendinosus (ST) muscles from eight cadavers.
  • Measurement of mean fiber length, sarcomere length, physiological cross-sectional area, and pennation angle.
  • Calculation of a similarity index (δ) to compare muscle architectures.

Main Results:

  • Significant architectural variations exist between medial (SM, ST) and lateral (BFlh, BFsh) hamstring muscles.
  • The fascicle length/muscle length ratio varied, being higher in ST and BFsh compared to BFlh and SM.
  • Moderate to low similarity indices were found between different hamstring muscle pairs, indicating unique designs.

Conclusions:

  • The human hamstring muscles possess distinct architectural designs, particularly between the medial and lateral groups.
  • Modeling the hamstrings as a single entity with uniform architecture leads to inaccurate functional representations.
  • These findings highlight the importance of considering individual muscle architecture for precise biomechanical analysis.