ABSTRACT
Anatomical variations are routinely encountered during dissections of muscles and in clinical practice, so anatomists and clinicians need to be aware of them. One such muscle is the tensor fascia suralis, a very rare muscle located in the popliteal fossa. It can originate from any of the hamstring muscles and it inserts into the fascia of the leg. This report presents a case of a variant muscle located very deep to the biceps femoris; it originated from the posterior surface of the femur and inserted into the fascia of the leg. It is unclear whether this is a rare variant of the tensor fascia suralis or a completely new muscle.
Subject(s)
Hamstring Muscles , Muscle, Skeletal , Dissection , Fascia , Humans , KneeABSTRACT
The superficial muscle group of the posterior compartment of leg forms a powerful muscular mass in the calf. The two-headed gastrocnemius is the most superficial muscle of this group, and forms the proximal, most prominent part of the calf. Gastrocnemius muscle exhibits numerous variations in the origin and/or insertion. The present report describes the incidental occurrence of the third/accessory head of gastrocnemius muscle in the left lower limb. During routine educational dissection of a 54-year old American female cadaver in the Anatomy lab of the Medical University of the Americas, Nevis, West Indies, we found an unusual 10.8 cm long muscle in the left popliteal region, attached proximally to the lateral aspect of the popliteal surface of femur, and distally terminated as a tendon which was attached at the junction of the medial and lateral heads of gastrocnemius muscle. No such variation was found on the right side. This is described as a case of third / accessory head of gastrocnemius muscle...
El grupo muscular superficial del compartimento posterior de la pierna forma una poderosa masa muscular. El músculo gastrocnemio de dos cabezas es el más superficial de este grupo y forma la parte proximal, más prominente de la pantorrilla. El músculo gastrocnemio presenta numerosas variaciones en el origen y/o inserción. El informe describe la presencia de una tercera/accesoria cabeza del músculo gastrocnemio, encontrada. durante una disección de rutina en un cadáver de una mujer americana de 54 años, en el Laboratorio de Anatomía de la Medical University of the Americas, Nevis, West Indies. La variación muscular inusual medía 10,8 cm de longitud y se originaba en la región poplítea izquierda, proximalmente en la cara lateral de la superficie poplítea del fémur, y se insertaba en un tendón que se adhería a la unión de las cabezas medial y lateral del músculo gastrocnemio. La variación no se encontró en el lado derecho. Este hallazgo se describe como un caso de tercera/accesoria cabeza del músculo gastrocnemio...
