You can never have too many accessories - a case of two accessory muscles of the ankle

Accessory muscles are relatively rare anatomic duplications of muscles that may appear anywhere in the muscular system. Though a wide array of accessory and supernumery muscles involving the ankle have been described in the literature, this is the first reported case we are aware of that features two accessory muscles. Accessory muscles are typically asymptomatic and often picked up as incidental findings but are important to be identified in the presence of chronic persistent ankle pain and the absence of other more common aetiologies.

The MRI Findings of Flexor Digitorum Accessorius Longus Muscle: a Case Report

The flexor digitorum accessorius longus (FDAL) is the most common accessory muscle found in the posterior compartment of the ankle area. The accessory muscle in this area such as the FDAL may be incidentally identified on magnetic resonance images (MRI). There are some case reports about the FDAL in cadaver researches. However, the MRI findings about the FDAL have been reported in a few cases. In this paper, we report a case of the FDAL incidentally identified on MRI with review of the literature about the FDAL.

Morphological description of the flexor digitorum accessorius longus muscle and its clinical significance / Descripción morfológica del músculo flexor largo accesorio de los dedos y su significancia clínica

The flexor digitorum accessorius longus muscle (FDALM) is an anatomical variation that occurs with low frequency in the leg and feet. It was first described by Meckel in 1818. It arises from the tibia or fibula and extends from this towards the quadratus plantae muscle or the flexor digitorum longus muscle, crossing the medial retromalleolar canal and creating a close relationship with the elements of the tibialis posterior neurovascular bundle. A hundred and ten legs were dissected from Caucasian, adult, undefined sex cadavers, previously kept in 5% formalin solution. We developed a dissection technique in "2 times" to search for and find the flexor digitorum accessorius longus muscle, essential for the safe and successful development of surgical procedures in the region. Three cases of flexor digitorum accessorius longus muscle muscle were described. Two of them were founded in the same cadaver, in a bilateral disposition. Knowledge of this muscle variation, its embryonic origin and the possibility of finding during clinical studies and invasive procedures in the leg and feet is important for differential diagnosis in compressive pathologies.

El músculo flexor largo accesorio de los dedos es una variación anatómica poco frecuente que se produce en la pierna y el pie. Esta variación fue descrita por primera vez por Meckel en 1818. El músculo se origina de la tibia o de la fíbula y se extiende desde ésta hacia el músculo cuadrado plantar o al músculo flexor largo de los dedos, cruzando el canal retromaleolar medial manteniendo una estrecha relación con los vasos tibiales posteriores y el nervio tibial. Fueron disecadas 110 piernas de cadáveres de individuos adultos, de ambos sexos, de raza caucásica, conservados previamente en solución de formalina al 5%. Desarrollamos una técnica de disección en "2 tiempos" para localizar el músculo flexor largo accesorio de los dedos, esencial para el abordaje seguro y exitoso de los procedimientos quirúrgicos realizados en la región. Se describen tres casos de músculo flexor largo accesorio de los dedos. Dos de ellos, bilaterales encontrados en un cadáver. El conocimiento de esta variación muscular, su origen embrionario y la posibilidad de encontrarlo durante los estudios clínicos y procedimientos invasivos en la pierna y en el pie adquiere importancia en el diagnóstico diferencial de las patologías compresivas.