The lower limbs perform supporting and motor functions. When a low support moves to a high, that is, to the back, upper limbs or buttocks, the work of the muscles changes along with a change in the direction of traction. The character becomes different when one or the other limb moves.
The article discusses the anatomy of the leg in general and the structure of the muscles of the human leg in particular.
Bones and joints
A strong bone base of the lower extremities is provided by the femur, tibia and tibia. The main load falls on them. At the same time, the femur is the largest both in this part and in the whole body. The tibia and tibia together make up the lower leg, and the foot is located below, where the bones have a complex structure with a large number of small bones. Between them are the joints, thanks to which the foot becomes so mobile. It allows a person to occupy a stable position.
The largest joints in the legs are the hip, ankle and knee joints, each of which is responsible for any movement. If they begin to function incorrectly, then the movement is hindered, and may even become impossible at all.
Blood vessels and nerve endings
The lower limbs need a lot of oxygen and nutrition. Therefore, an extensive vascular system is developed here, providing this part with blood. The main vessel here is the femoral artery. All blood in the lower extremities is provided through it. Further, it branches into many branches, which ultimately form the capillary network. Veins repeat the course of the artery.
Without nerve impulses, movements would be impossible. Nerves approach the muscles, activating them if necessary. The structure of the leg as a whole and the structure of the muscles of the leg of a person (see photo below) in particular are based on the same laws as the whole organism. Therefore, if nerves are damaged, movements will be impaired, even to the point of paralysis.
Such in this part is the human anatomy. The muscles of the legs, their structure and location are now considered in more detail.
Muscle
The muscles of the lower extremities are more powerful than the muscles of the hands. But, on the other hand, they are not as accurate as on the upper limbs. The muscles of the legs of a person have the greatest physical activity. For example, the strength of the support during running jumps for professional athletes is more than six hundred kilograms. They experience even more load when jumping high, followed by repulsion.
In all these and other movements, not only the muscles of the legs of a person are involved, but also the muscles of other groups: arms, shoulder girdle, and trunk. Such a load is called global because it requires a lot of energy.
Human Anatomy: Leg Muscles
The muscles of this part of the body are divided into four groups:
Front hip group.
The back of the thigh.
Buttocks.
The muscles of the leg.
Let us consider in detail each of the groups separately.
Front hip
The muscles of the human legs are called “quadriceps” in this part, since they have four heads:
- rectus muscle;
- internal broad muscle;
- external rectus muscle;
- medium broad muscle.
The quadriceps is the most powerful of all the muscles on the human body. It runs along the entire front surface, where it is crossed by the oblique tailor muscle.
All heads of the quadriceps muscle converge in the lower thigh in the common tendon.
The rectus is bifurcated and the longest. Downwards, it expands and reaches the middle of the thigh, after which it narrows and turns into a tendon, which fuses with the patella. Located on the front surface, it reaches and ends at the tuber of the tibia.
The internal broad muscle is thick. It is located on the front-medial surface and covers the rectus muscle from the front edge. Inside is in contact with the medial group. In places it is covered by a tailor muscle. The bundles of muscles that surround the front-medial surface go forward and downward in an oblique direction. In the lower femoral part, it passes into the tendon, connecting with the tendon of the rectus muscle of the human legs.
The external broad muscle is flat, being on the front outer surface. In places, it is covered by a muscle that strains the wide fascia. The front edge is covered with the rectus muscle. The muscle bundles go forward and down in an oblique direction, covering the femur in front, and below turn into a tendon, interwoven into it (tendon of the rectus muscle).
The middle broad muscle is the weakest of the four. It is flat and the thinnest of them and is located on the front surface. The median broad muscle is covered with a straight line, starting from the intervertral line within its ¾ from above. The bundles go strictly down in the vertical direction, turning into a flat tendon. At the bottom of the thigh, a tendon attaches to another tendon related to the rectus muscle.
The main function that the quadriceps muscle performs is the extension of the leg at the knee. The biceps muscle is involved in the flexion of the thigh and the forward inclination of the pelvis.
The leg muscles, photos of which are presented in the article, are a complex system of our body.
Back hip group
In this part, closer to the sides, the biceps femoris muscle is located. As the name implies, it consists of two heads:
- long, originating from the sciatic tubercle;
- short, emanating from a third of the lateral lip in the middle.
Its main function is to bend the lower leg in the knee and to extend the thigh. In addition, together with the gluteus maximus muscle, it extends the trunk with a strengthened lower leg.
Buttocks
This part includes the following muscles of the legs of a person:
- large buttock;
- middle buttock;
- small buttock.
The first occupies the entire surface of the buttocks. Therefore, the shape of the buttocks is more dependent on it. The muscle originates at the ilium, tailbone and dorsal sacral surface. The main task is to ensure the movement of the hip joint: straightening the torso, as well as retracting the legs.
Shin Muscles
Considering further the structure of the muscles of the human leg, it should be said that they end in the lower leg. Here is the triceps muscle, consisting of two that have a common tendon.
The calf muscle originates in the femur above the condyles of a pair of heads passing into the tendon. Then it continues in the massive Achilles tendon, which connects to the posterior surface of the calcaneus.
The other muscle is called the soleus. It is fleshy and thick, located along the calf muscle and stretches over most of the leg bones. It originates on the head and upper third of the fibula, descends along the tibia, without touching the middle third of the lower leg. At the end, it passes into the Achilles tendon.
The back muscle is represented by the plantar, which begins above the condyle of the thigh and knee joint (capsule). It merges with a thin and long tendon, fixing itself at the tubercle of the heel. However, such a muscle may not be at all.
Many experts call the ankle muscles stubborn, as developing strength in this part of the body becomes very troublesome. Long and dynamic loads made the described groups very hardy. Therefore, to develop them even stronger is so difficult. But if necessary, trainers make up special sets of exercises for these muscles.