Vastus medialis
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| Vastus medialis | ||
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| Vastus medialis | ||
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| Muscles of lower extremity | ||
| Gray's | subject #128 471 | |
| Origin: | femur | |
| Insertion: | patella | |
| Artery: | femoral artery | |
| Nerve: | femoral nerve | |
| Action: | extends leg | |
The vastus medialis, often called the 'teardrop' muscle, is a medially located muscle of the quadriceps.
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[edit] Function
It is the muscle that extends the leg the last 10%, and is therefore very important while walking.
It is the muscle that brings the kneecap inward, holding it in the position it should be.
This can relieve stress on the knee, as well as treat runner's knee.
Lunges are an extremely good workout for this muscle.
[edit] Origin and insertion
It arises from the lower half of the intertrochanteric line, the medial lip of the linea aspera, the upper part of the medial supracondylar line, the tendons of the Adductor longus and the Adductor magnus and the medial intermuscular septum.
Its fibers are directed downward and forward, and are chiefly attached to an aponeurosis which lies on the deep surface of the muscle and is inserted into the medial border of the patella and the Quadriceps femoris tendon, an expansion being sent to the capsule of the knee-joint.
[edit] Relations
The Vastus medialis and Vastus intermedius appear to be inseparably united, but when the Rectus femoris has been reflected a narrow interval will be observed extending upward from the medial border of the patella between the two muscles, and the separation may be continued as far as the lower part of the intertrochanteric line, where, however, the two muscles are frequently continuous.
[edit] Additional images
 Right femur. Posterior surface. |
 Muscles of the iliac and anterior femoral regions. |
 The femoral artery. |
[edit] External links
- LUC vasm
- Cross section at UV pembody/body18b
- Dictionary at eMedicine Vastus+medialis+muscle
- PTCentral
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
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