Today we're talking about the LONGEST muscle in the body !
It's Sartorius ! It's a leg muscle that starts at the hip > crosses diagonally down the thigh attaching just below your knee on the inside.
Sartorius Muscle Attachments
Origin: ASIS (Anterior Superior Iliac Spine) - front of you hip bone
Insertion: Pes Anserine Tendon (insertion) - just below you knee on the inside
Muscle Action(s):
Flexion
Abduction
Lateral Rotation
all three actions are of the thigh at the hip joint (aka coxal joint)
Not only does this muscle cross the hip joint it also crosses the knee joint, so Sartorius
can also perform:
Flexion of the leg at the knee joint
HIP FLEXION & KNEE FLEXION
HIP ABDUCTION
LATERAL ROTATION of thigh @ hip joint
These three actions combined help your leg into the "figure 4" position (as I call it) but also known as the "Tailor's Position" - how a tailor would sit whilst sewing. AND guess what else? Tailor in latin translates to "Sartour" which is why this muscle is called SARTORIUS !
The Sartorius muscle is superficial (closest to surface) and about two fingers wide at the muscle belly.
Despite it's superficial-ness, Sartorius can be hard to palpate on someone...unless your this dude:
see how he's contracting just the left one?
I found the original image through this 'Anatomy Notes' blog post which has a great
review of Sartorius if you want to read on :)
Thanks for reading about Sartorius !
Also I can't say Sartorius without getting this song in my head
(explicit lyrics you've been warned ;)
SAR-SAR-SAR-SAR SARTORIUS !
