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Hamstring muscles

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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The 'hamstrings' is the common term for a collection of three femoral muscles on the medial side of the leg:

  • semitendinosus
  • semimembranosus
  • biceps femoris - long head only

They are similar in that they share:

  • origin - the ischial tuberosity
  • innervation - the sciatic nerve
  • an action spanning two joints - hip and knee

Historically, these muscles acquired this collective term because their tendons were used to hang up hams - the hip and thigh region - of pigs.


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