dots-menu
×

Home  »  Anatomy of the Human Body  »  pages 1340

Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.

pages 1340

the fibula; the tendons of the Semimembranosus and Semitendinosus as they run medialward to the tibia are separated by a slight furrow; the Semitendinosus is the more medial, and can be felt in certain positions of the limb as a sharp cord, while the Semimembranosus is thick and rounded. The Gracilis is situated a little in front of them.
  The Tibialis anterior (Fig. 1240) presents a fusiform enlargement at the lateral side of the tibia and projects beyond the anterior crest of the bone; its tendon can be traced on the front of the tibia and ankle-joint and thence along the medial side of the foot to the base of the first metatarsal bone. The fleshy fibers of Peronæus longus are strongly marked at the upper part of the lateral side of the leg; it is separated by furrows from Extensor digitorum longus in front and Soleus behind. Below, the fleshy fibers end abruptly in a tendon which overlaps the more flattened elevation of Peronæus brevis; below the lateral malleolus the tendon of Peronæus brevis is the more marked.
  On the dorsum of the foot (Fig. 1241) the tendons emerging from beneath the transverse and cruciate crural ligaments spread out and can be distinguished as follows: the most medial and largest is Tibialis anterior, the next is Extensor hallucis proprius, then Extensor digitorum longus dividing into four tendons, to the second, third, fourth, and fifth toes, and lastly Peronæus tertius. The Extensor digitorum brevis produces a rounded outline on the dorsum of the foot and a fulness in front of the lateral malleolus. The Interossei dorsales bulge between the metatarsal bones.


FIG. 1240– Lateral aspect of right leg. (See enlarged image)
  At the back of the knee is the popliteal fossa, bounded above by the tendons of the hamstrings and below by the Gastrocnemius. Below this fossa is the prominent fleshy mass of the calf of the leg produced by Gastrocnemius and Soleus (Fig. 1239). When these muscles are in action the borders of Gastrocnemius form two well-defined curved lines which converge to the tendocalcaneus; the medial border is the more prominent. At the same time the edges of Soleus can be seen forming, on either side of Gastrocnemius, curved eminences, of which the lateral is the longer. The fleshy mass of the calf ends somewhat abruptly in the tendocalcaneus, which tapers in the upper three-fourths of its extent but widens out slightly below. Behind the medial border of the lower part of the tibia (Fig. 1242) a well-defined ridge is produced by the tendon of Tibialis posterior during contraction of the muscle.
  On the sole of the foot the Abductor digiti quinti forms a narrow rounded elevation on the lateral side, and the Abductor hallucis a lesser elevation on the medial