Quadriceps

"Quads" redirects here. For other uses, see Quad.

Not to be confused with quadratus femoris.

Quadriceps femoris muscle
Quadriceps femoris, with different muscles in different colors. rectus femoris - blue vastus lateralis - yellow vastus intermedialis - green vastus medialis - red
Details
Origin	combined rectus femoris and vastus muscles
Insertion	tibial tuberosity
Artery	femoral artery
Nerve	Femoral nerve
Actions	Knee extension; Hip flexion (R.Fem. only)
Identifiers
Latin	musculus quadriceps femoris
MeSH	D052097
TA98	A04.7.02.017
TA2	2613
FMA	22428
Anatomical terms of muscle

The quadriceps femoris (/ˈkwɒdrsɛps ˈfɛmərs/) (Latin for "four-headed muscle of the femur"), also called simply the quadriceps, quadriceps extensor, or quads, is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the great extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large fleshy mass which covers the front and sides of the femur.

Structure

The quadriceps consists of four separate muscles

It is 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. It originates on the ilium. It is named from its straight course.

• The other three 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 (i.e. on the outer side of the thigh).
  • Vastus medialis is on the medial side of the femur (i.e. on the inner part thigh).
  • Vastus intermedius lies between vastus lateralis and vastus medialis on the front of the femur (i.e. on the top or front of the thigh), but deep to the rectus femoris. Typically, it cannot be seen without dissection of the rectus femoris.

All four parts of the quadriceps muscle ultimately insert into the tibial tuberosity of the tibia. This is via the patella, where the quadriceps tendon becomes the patellar ligament, which then attaches to the tibia.

There is a fifth muscle of the quadriceps complex that is often forgotten and rarely taught called articularis genus.

Innervation

Femoral nerve (L1, L2, L3, L4).

Function

All four quadriceps are powerful extensors of the knee joint. They are crucial in walking, running, jumping and squatting. Because rectus femoris attaches to the ilium, it is also a flexor of the hip. This action is also crucial to walking or running as it swings the leg forward into the ensuing step. The quadriceps, specifically the vastus medialis, play the important role of stabilizing the patella and the knee joint during gait.

Society and culture

Training

In strength training, the quadriceps are trained by several leg exercises. Effective exercises include the squat and leg press. The isolation movement (i.e. targets solely the quadriceps) is the leg extension exercise.

History

Etymology

The proper Latin plural form of the adjective quadriceps would be quadricipites. In modern English usage, quadriceps is used in both singular and plural. The singular form quadricep, produced by back-formation, is frequently used.

Additional images

• 
  Knee diagram
• 
  Capsule of right knee-joint (distended). Lateral aspect.
• 
  Cross-section through the middle of the thigh.
• 
  Anterior aspect of right leg.
• 
  Front and medial aspect of right thigh.
• 
  Lateral aspect of right leg.
• 
  The leg extension is an isolation exercise.
• 
  Quadriceps muscle
• 
  Quadriceps muscle

See also

This article uses anatomical terminology.

• Hamstring

External links

• Quadriceps muscle at the Duke University Health System's Orthopedics program
• Template:Exrx
• Template:RocheLexicon
• Anatomy of the Quadriceps Muscles - Fitstep.com
• Stretching the Quadriceps