Quadriceps femoris muscle
| Quadriceps femoris muscle |
|---|
|
| Human thigh muscles from the front, left. Leg, vastus intermedius muscle covered by rectus femoris muscle |
| origin |
| with 4 heads on the femur and iliac bone |
| approach |
| External surface of the kneecap , tibial tuberosity of the tibia |
| function |
| Extensor of the knee joint (partial flexion of the hip joint over the origin of the rectus femoris muscle ) |
| Innervation |
| Femoral nerve |
| Spinal segments |
| L2-L4 |
The quadriceps femoris muscle ( Latin for "four-headed thigh muscle"), often called quadriceps or "lower leg extensor" for short , is a skeletal muscle consisting of four muscle heads on the front of the thigh . The four heads are:
- Rectus femoris muscle ( lat . : straight muscle of the thigh); it occupies the middle of the thigh and arises on the iliac bone , it is named after the course of the muscle
- Musculus vastus medialis (Latin: broad muscle located in the middle); which arises on the inside of the thigh bone
- The vastus intermedius muscle (lat .: medium broad muscle) lies between the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscles on the anterior side of the thigh bone
- Musculus vastus lateralis (Latin: outer broad muscle); it arises on the outside of the thigh bone
The vasti muscles (Latin for 'broad muscles') arise on the thigh bone, the rectus femoris muscle on the iliac bone above the acetabulum . The four muscles radiate into a common terminal tendon that runs towards the tibial tuberosity . The kneecap ( patella ) is embedded in this. Below the kneecap, the tendon is also called the kneecap ligament (lat. Ligamentum patellae ). The quadriceps tendon becomes the patellar ligament in the kneecap.
The heads of the quadriceps femoris muscle work together to stretch the knee joint . Imbalances in these muscles, for example due to paralysis, exert transverse forces on the kneecap, which can lead to a habitual dislocation of the kneecap.
The quadriceps femoris muscle is innervated by the femoral nerve , which draws fibers from the spinal cord segments L2, L3 and L4.
If essential parts of the muscle are paralyzed, for example due to damage to the femoral nerve, the flexion of the knee cannot be slowed down. If the body's center of gravity moves backwards, the patient bends.
function
The quadriceps femoris muscle causes the knee joint to extend and the hip joint to flex ( flexion ) , with the rectus femoris muscle assisting.
photos
rectus femoris - blue
vastus lateralis - yellow
vastus intermedius - green
vastus medialis - red
literature
- Michael Schünke: Functional Anatomy - Topography and Function of the Movement System . Georg Thieme, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 978-3-13-118571-6 , p. 344.
- Thomas Gottschalk: Colorful autumn . Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-453-20706-6 , page 18ff., Author describes the development and course of his disease and refers to Wikipedia on page 16.