Muscles of the Leg

Anterior Leg

The muscles of the anterior leg region can be described as:

  1. Tibialis anterior

    • This muscle originates on the lateral and interosseous membrane of the tibia and attaches to the medial cuneiform and first metatarsal

    • This muscle acts to dorsiflex at the ankle joint and invert the foot

  2. Extensor hallucis longus

    • This muscle originates on the anterior shaft of the fibula and attaches to the distal phalanx of the first toe

    • This muscle act to dorsiflex at the ankle joint, and extend the first toe

  3. Extensor digitorum longus

    • This muscle originates on the anterior shaft of the fibula and attaches to the distal and middle phalanx of the second to fifth toes

    • This muscle acts to dorsiflex at the ankle joint and extend the second to fifth toes

  4. Fibularis tertius

    • This muscle originates on the anterior shaft of the fibula and attaches to the fifth metatarsal

    • This muscle acts to dorsiflex at the ankle joint and to evert the foot

Lateral Leg

The muscles of the lateral leg region can be described as:

  1. Fibularis longus

    • This muscle originates on the upper lateral surface of the fibula and attaches to the medial cuneiform and first metatarsal

    • This muscle acts to evert the foot

  2. Fibularis brevis

    • This muscle originates on the inferior lateral surface of the fibula and attaches to the tuberosity of the fifth metatarsal

Posterior Leg

The muscles of the posterior leg region can be described categorized as deep and superficial.

The deep muscles of the posterior leg can be described as:

  1. Popliteus

    • This muscle originates on the lateral condyle of the femur and attaches to the posterior proximal region of the tibia

    • This muscle acts to unlock the knee through lateral rotation of the femur on the tibia

  2. Flexor hallucis longus

    • This muscle originates on the posterior region of the femur and attaches to the distal phalanx of the first toe

    • This muscle act to plantarflex at the ankle joint, and invert the foot

  3. Flexor digitorum longus

    • This muscle originates on the posterior medial region of the tibia and attaches to the distal phalanx of the second to fifth toes

    • This muscle acts to plantarflex at the ankle joint and invert the foot

  4. Tibialis posterior

    • This muscle originates on the posterior interosseous membrane and attaches to the navicular tubercle

    • This muscle acts to plantarflex at the ankle joint and to invert the foot

  1. Plantaris

    • This muscle originates on the inferior lateral supracondylar line of the femur and attaches to the posterior calcaneus via the calcaneal tendon (Achilles tendon)

    • This muscle acts to flex at the knee joint and plantar flex the foot

  2. Gastrocnemius

    • This muscle originates on the inferior lateral supracondylar line of the femur and attaches to the posterior calcaneus via the calcaneal tendon (Achilles tendon)

    • This muscle acts to flex at the knee joint and plantar flex the foot

  3. Soleus

    • This muscle originates on the inferior lateral supracondylar line of the femur and attaches to the posterior calcaneus via the calcaneal tendon (Achilles tendon)

    • This muscle acts to flex at the knee joint and plantar flex the foot

Clinical Notes:

  1. Compartment syndrome occurs when an increase in pressure within a compartment of the lower limb compresses the muscles and nerves within that compartment therefore adversely affecting circulation and causing ischemia to the structures distal to the area that is being compressed.

  2. Calcaneal tendon jerk is a test to assess damage to S1 and S2 spinal nerves that contribute to the tibial nerve.

Muscles of the Foot

This group of muscles are clinically unimportant wand will just be named instead:

Muscles on the dorsum of the foot:

  1. Tendons of extensor hallucis longus and extensor digitorum longus

  2. Extensor digitorum brevis and extensor hallucis brevis

Muscles on the soles of the foot:

  1. Abductor hallucis

  2. Flexor digitorum brevis

  3. Abductor digiti minimi

  4. Tendons of flexor hallucis longus

  5. Flexor digitorum longus

  6. Quadratus plantae

  7. Lumbricals

  8. Flexor hallucis brevis

  9. Adductor hallucis

  10. Flexor digiti minimi brevis