Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The gastrocnemius muscle is prone to spasms, which are painful, involuntary contractions of the muscle that may last several minutes. [5] A severe ankle dorsiflexion force may result in a Medial Gastrocnemius Strain (MGS) injury of the muscle, commonly referred to as a "torn" or "strained" calf muscle, which is acutely painful and disabling. [6]
Sometimes, the SSV joins the common gastrocnemius vein before draining in the popliteal vein. [2] Sometimes, it does not make contact with the popliteal vein, but goes up to drain in the GSV at a variable level. [1] Instead of draining in the popliteal vein, it can merge with the Giacomini vein and drain in the GSV at the superior 1/3 of the thigh.
[2] [9] This distal attachment is the stronger of the two and makes up the floor of the pes anserine bursa. The proximal tibial attachment of the sMCL is the primary stabilizer to valgus force on the knee, whereas the distal tibial attachment is the primary stabilizer of external rotation at 30° of knee flexion. [3] [9]
Biarticular muscles cross two joints in series, usually in a limb. The details of the origin (proximal attachment) and insertion (distal attachment) can play a large role in determining muscle function. For instance, the human gastrocnemius technically spans both the knee and ankle joints.
The gastrocnemius also flexes the leg at the knee. Both muscles are innervated by the tibial nerve. [14] Because the fibres of the tendon spiral about 90 degrees, fibres from the gastrocnemius tend to attach to the outer part of the bone, whereas fibres from the soleus tend to attach closer to the midline. [11]
Diagram showing named veins. Perforator veins exist along the length of the lower limb, in greater number in the leg (anatomical ref to below knee) than in the thigh. Some veins are named after the physician who first described them: Dodd's perforator at the inferior 1/3 of the thigh; Boyd's perforator at the knee level
The femoral vein continues into the thigh as the continuation from the popliteal vein at the back of the knee. It drains blood from the deep thigh muscles and thigh bone. [2] Proximal to the confluence with the deep femoral vein, and the joining of the great saphenous vein, the femoral vein is widely known as the common femoral vein. [3]
The fabella is a small sesamoid bone found in some mammals embedded in the tendon of the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle behind the lateral condyle of the femur. It is an accessory bone, an anatomical variation present in 39% of humans. [1] [2] Rarely, there are two or three of these bones (fabella bi- or tripartita).