Muscular system
Popliteus muscle
Musculus popliteus
- System
- Muscular system
- Regions
- Lower limb
- Side
- Left and right
- Part of
- Deep part of posterior compartment of leg
DescriptionUnreviewed
The popliteus muscle in the leg is used for unlocking the knees when walking, by laterally rotating the femur on the tibia during the closed chain portion of the gait cycle (one with the foot in contact with the ground).
In open chain movements (when the involved limb is not in contact with the ground), the popliteus muscle medially rotates the tibia on the femur.
It is also used when sitting down and standing up.
It is the only muscle in the posterior (back) compartment of the lower leg that acts just on the knee and not on the ankle.
The gastrocnemius muscle acts on both joints.
Continue reading on Wikipedia →
Source: Wikipedia · Text licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 · This text comes from the source data and has not been reviewed by a person yet.
Muscle attachments
Origin
Insertion
Names
- Latin
- Musculus popliteus
- English
- Popliteus muscle
- French
- Muscle poplité
- Spanish
- Músculo poplíteo
- Portuguese
- Músculo poplíteo