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quadriceps femoris (anatomy)
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- quadriceps femoris
- a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh
- the great extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large fleshy mass
which covers the front and sides of the femur
- subdivided into four separate portions or 'heads', which have received
distinctive names:
- rectus femoris occupies the middle of the thigh, covering most
of the other three quadriceps muscles
- originates on the ilium
- other three muscles lie deep to rectus femoris and originate
from the body of the femur, which they cover from the trochanters
to the condyles:
- vastus lateralis is on the lateral side of the femur
- vastus medialis is on the medial side of the femur
- vastus intermedius lies between vastus lateralis and vastus medialis on the front of the femur
- all four muscles that form the quadriceps attach to the patella via the quadriceps tendon
- rectus femoris occupies the middle of the thigh, covering most
of the other three quadriceps muscles
- subdivided into four separate portions or 'heads', which have received
distinctive names:
Last reviewed 01/2018
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