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The sartorius muscle is the longest
muscle in the human body. Together
with the _guadriceQs femoris, it belongs
to the anterior muscles of the thigh.
The sartorius muscle has an oblique
course throughout the thigh; it arises
from the anterior superior iliac spine,
crosses to the medial side of the thigh,
and finally inserts to the medial side of
t he proximal tibia.
Jue to its oblique course, the sartorius
n uscle flexes, abducts and externally
otates the thigh, and flexes and
1terna lly rotates the leg,.
Key facts about sartorius muscle Table guiz
Origin
Anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS)
Insertion
Proximal end of tibia below medial condyle (via
oes anse rinLJs)
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Key facts about sartorius muscle Table guiz
Origin
Anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS)
Insertion
Proximal end o f tibia below medial condyle (via
pes anserinus)
Innervation
Femoral nerve (L2-L3)
Blood supply
Proximal third: branches of femoral artery,
deep femoral artery, artery of quadriceps,
latera l circumflex femoral artery
Middle third: branches of femoral artery
Distal third: branches of femoral and
descending genicular arteries
Function
Hip joint: thigh flexion, thigh abduction, thigh
external rotation
Knee joint: leg flexion, leg internal rotation
This article will discuss the anatomY.
and function of the sartorius muscle.
Contents
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Anterior superior iliac spine
1/ 3
Spina iliaca anterior superi o r
Synonyms: ASIS
The sartorius muscle originates by a
round tendon from the anterior
superior iliac spine and the upper half
of the notch between the anterior
superior iliac spine and the anterior
inferior iliac spine. The fibers form a
thin, flat muscle, which extends
inferomedially across the anterior
surface of the thigh.
The muscle descends in an almost
vertical fashion through the medial
aspect of the thigh. It crosses the
medial side of the knee joint and then
inserts onto the medial aspect of the
proximal tibia, anterior to the ,gracilis
and semitendinosus muscles.
The inserting tendons of these three
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pro xim al 1:10,a, an-cerior -co 1:ne ,grac,us
and se mi ten din os us muscles.
The ins ert ing ten do ns of the se thr ee
mu scl es for m a wi de ap on eu rot ic
sh ea th ca lled the pes anserinus. So me
fib ers fro m the inf eri or pa rt of the
ten do n ble nd wi th the me dia l co lla ter al
lig am en t of the kn ee joi nt, and the
de ep fascia ov er the me dia l as pe ct of
the leg, wh ile so me su pe rio r fib ers
ble nd wi th the kn ee joi nt ca ps ule .
Th es e co nn ec tio ns co ntr ibu te to the
11e dia l sta bil ity of the kn ee joi nt.
Ar e yo u fee lin g a bit
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att ac hm en ts, inn erv ati on s an d
fun cti on s of the mu sc les of the
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ou r mu scl e charts!
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The sartoriu s muscle lies SUP-erficiallY.
in the thigh, with only fascia and skin
over its surface. Deep to the sartoriu s
is the quadrice ps femoris muscle.
As it crosses from the lateral to the
medial side of the thigh, the sartoriu s
muscle crosses the surfaces of the
iliogsoas , gectineu s and adducto r
longus muscles . The tensor fasciae
latae muscle originat es just lateral to
the proxima l attachm ent of the
sartoriu s muscle.
The medial edge of the sartoriu s forms
the lateral border of an importa nt
anatom ical space known as the
femoral triangle . The triangle is
complet ed superio rly by the inguinal
ligamen t and medially by the medial
margin of the adducto r long us muscle.
The structur es found within the
triangle , the femoral arterY., vein and
nerve, therefor e, lie medial to the
sartoriu s. The femoral artery continue s
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anat omic al spac e know n as the
femo ral trian gle. The trian gle is
com plete d supe riorl y by the ingu inal
.liga men t and med ially by the med ial
marg in of the addu ctor long us mus cle.
The struc ture s foun d with in the
trian gle, the femo ral arter Y., vein and
nerv e, ther efor e, Lie med ial to the
sarto rius. The femo ral arte ry cont inue s
infer iorly , deep to the sarto rius.
In orde r to easil y rem emb er the
bord ers of the femo ral trian gle , you
can use the mne mon ic SAIL whic h
stan ds for:
• Sart orius
• Add ucto r long us
• Ingu inal Liga men t
O Sa rto riu s mu scl e Q
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• Ing uin al Lig am en t
In ne rv at ion
Sa rto riu s rec eiv es its inn erv ati on fro m
the fem or al ne rve L2 an d L3 .
Bl oo d su pp ly
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As sartorius is such a long muscle, it
comes as no surprise that it requires
extensive vascular supply from several
sources:
• The proximal third may receive its
vascular supply from the branches of
the femoral, deeQ femoral, lateral
circumflex femoral arteries and/or
artery of quadriceps (branch of either
the femoral, deep femoral, or lateral
circumflex femoral artery).
• The middle third is supplied by
branches of the femoral artery.
• The distal third receives blood supply
from the femoral artery and
descending genicular artery.
Learn everything with about the
muscles of the lower limb and the
muscles of the hip and thigh with the
following study units.
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Function
The sartorius muscle crosses both the
hip and knee joints, producing
movements on both of them. At the
hiP-..Joint it is capable of flexion,
external rotation and abduction of the
leg . The contraction of sartorius can
also cause flexion of the knee joint and
inward, or medial, rotation of the tibia
against the femur.
Sartorius
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animation.
The combination of all these
movements allows an individual to sit
in a cross-legged position. However,
movements created by the contraction
of sartorius are not limited to that
single function. It is also suggested
that sartorius may play an important
role in climbing .
Test your knowledge about the
sartorius and other muscles of the hip
and thing with the following quiz!
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Overview of the muscles of the hip and
thigh (27 structures).
Basic and advanced
111 structure identification
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Clinical relations
The pes anserine bursa Located at
the insertion of the sartorius
muscle can
become inflammed (pes anserine
bursitis) when chronically
overstrained (e.g. when jogging or
breaststroking).
Common symptoms are pain,
swelling and a functional
impairment of the three muscles
inserting at the pes anserinus
(sartorius, semitendinosus and
gracilis muscles). If the
inflammation is overseen or
poorly treated (rest, cooling, pain
medication, Local corticoid
injection if necessary) the bursitis
often becomes chronic .
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°' p Physiopedia _
The sartorius muscle is a thin, long,
superficial muscle in the anterior
compartment of the thigh. l1 l It runs
down the length of the thigh, runs over 2
joints-hip and knee jointsl2 l and is the
longest muscle in the human body.l 1 l An
exceptional length of this muscle often
exceeds 50cm. l3 l In such
long muscles not all muscle fibres run
through the whole length of the
muscle belly.l 2 l It is estimated that at the
most 30-50% of fibres run from tendon
to tendon.l 2 l The rest of them end
intrafascicularly. l2 l The length of a
single fibre is estimated at 35-45cm.l 4 1
Just like an S-shaped tape, the muscle
belly twists
around the anterior, and medial surface
of the thigh. l2 l It passes behind the
medial condyle of the femur to end in a
tendon. l1 l The tendon, after taking an
anterior curve joins with the tendon of
the Gracilis and Semitendinosus in the
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anterior curve joins with the tendon of
the Gracilis and Semitendinosus in the
pes anserinus before its final
insertion. l1 l
Image: Sartorius muscle (highlighted in
green) - anterior view ls]
Etymology
Sartorius derives from the Latin word
sartor, meaning tailor, l6 l and it is
occasionally referred to as the tailor's
muscle. l1 l This name was chosen in
reference to the cross-legged position in
which tailors once sat. l1 I
Origin
Anterior superior iliac spinel1 l l2 l
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Insertion
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Origin
Anterior superior iliac spine[1 l (2 1
Insertion
The superomedial surface of the tibia [i]
Nerve supply
Femoral Nerve[1 l
Variation
There are slight adaptive ethnic
differences in width and the range of
muscle belly and tendon of the sartorius
muscle.(4 1The muscle may be absent in
some people. [7 ]
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Blood supply
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Blood supply
The muscle receives 5 to 11 vessels
originating from: superficial circumflex
iliac, lateral femoral, deep femoral,
descending geniculate, and femoral
arteries. l7 l
Function
At the hip it flexes, weakly abducts, and
rotates the thigh laterally.l 1 I At the knee,
it can flex the leg; when the knee is
flexed, it also rotates the leg medially. l1 l
This muscle plays an important part in
stabilisation of the pelvis-especially in
women.l 8 I This is due to the constrictive
effect which the muscles on both sides of
the body have on the pubic symphysis.l 8 I
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Clinical significance
The Pes anserinus refers to the conjoined
tendons of the gracilis, semitendinosus
and the sartorius.l 10 1It lies superficial to
the tibial insertion of the medial
collateral ligament of the knee. Pes
anserine bursitis is a condition in which
the medial portion of the knee is
inflamed. ln] If the bursa underlying the
tendons of the sartorius, gracilis, and
semitendinosus gets irritated from
overuse or injury, a person can develop
this ailment. This condition usually
occurs in athletes from overuse and is a
common cause of chronic knee
weakness and pain_ln][iz] It is
characterised by pain, swelling and/or
tenderness. 1121
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Strength testing
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: X
- - - Sartorius
---va stus intermedius
- - - - Vastus lateralis
----Va stus medialis
- - - - Gastrocnemius
-----T ibialis anterior
- - - - - Soleus
nuscle - Wikipedia Visit
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ontent
A 1liopsoas
B PecUneus
C Adductor lonQUS
~muscle 0 Graclffs
E [Link]
F Vestus media lis
G "RMior fascia lata
H Rect us tomons
I \lac;t11c; at,....al, c
