Quadriceps muscles

Dr Henry Knipe ◉ ◈ and Dr Craig Hacking ◉ ◈ et al.

The quadriceps is the group of four muscles in the anterior compartment of the thigh that connect to the patella via the quadriceps tendon. The muscles are located:

superficial: rectus femoris
medial: vastus medialis
lateral: vastus lateralis
deep: vastus intermedius

All four muscles are innervated by the femoral nerve.

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References

Anatomy: Lower limb

skeleton of the lower limb
joints
- hip joint
  - ligaments
  - additional structures
  - ossification centers
- knee joint
- tibiofibular joints
  - proximal tibiofibular joint
  - distal tibiofibular syndesmosis
    - ligaments
      - anterior inferior tibiofibular ligament
        accessory anterior inferior tibiofibular ligament
      - posterior inferior tibiofibular ligament
- ankle joint
  - regional anatomy
    - medial ankle
    - lateral ankle
    - anterior ankle
  - ligaments
    - medial collateral (deltoid) ligament
    - lateral collateral ligament
    - additional structures
    - ankle bursae
      - retrocalcaneal bursa
      - subcutaneous calcaneal bursa
    - ossification centers of the ankle
  - variants
    - ball and socket ankle joint
- foot joints
  - subtalar joint
    - articulations
      - talocalcaneal joint
    - ligaments
    - associated structures
  - mid-tarsal (Chopart) joint
    - talonavicular joint
    - calcaneocuboid joint
  - tarsometatarsal (Lisfranc) joint
    - ligaments
      - Lisfranc ligament
  - intermetatarsal joint
  - metatarsophalangeal joint
  - interphalangeal joint
spaces of the lower limb
- adductor canal
- femoral sheath
  - femoral canal
    - femoral ring
- femoral triangle (contents mnemonic | boundaries mnemonic)
- foot subdivisions
- popliteal fossa (mnemonic)
- tarsal tunnel (mnemonic)
- triangular space of cruciate ligaments
muscles of the lower limb
- muscles of the pelvic group
  - inner hip group
    - iliopsoas muscle
  - gluteal region
    - gluteal muscles
    - tensor fasciae latae muscle
  - lateral rotator group
- muscles of the thigh
- muscles of the leg
  - anterior compartment of the leg
  - posterior compartments of the leg
    - superficial posterior compartment of the leg (calf)
      - triceps surae
        
        medial and lateral heads of the gastrocnemius muscle
        
        soleus muscle
        accessory soleus muscle
      - plantaris muscle
      - calcaneal tendon
    - deep posterior compartment of the leg
  - lateral compartment of the leg
    - peroneus brevis muscle
    - peroneus longus muscle
- muscles of the foot
  - dorsal muscles
    - extensor hallucis brevis muscle
    - extensor digitorum brevis muscle
  - plantar muscles
    - 1st layer
    - 2nd layer
      - quadratus plantae muscle
      - lumbrical muscles
    - 3rd layer
    - 4th layer
      - dorsal interossei muscles
      - plantar interossei muscles
- accessory muscles
  - accessory peroneal muscles
vascular supply
- arterial supply of the lower limb
- venous drainage of the lower limb
  - deep system
    - common femoral vein
      - femoral vein
        
        deep femoral vein
        
        popliteal vein
        
        peroneal vein
        
        posterior tibial vein
        
        anterior tibial vein
  - superficial system
    - great saphenous vein
      - dorsal venous plexus
    - small saphenous vein
      - vein of Giacomini
innervation of the lower limb
- lumbar plexus (mnemonic)
  - femoral nerve
    - saphenous nerve
  - obturator nerve
- sacral plexus
  - sciatic nerve (motor distribution)
    - common peroneal nerve
      - superficial peroneal nerve
      - deep peroneal nerve
    - tibial nerve
lymphatics

Article information

rID: 40223

System: Musculoskeletal

Section: Anatomy

Synonyms or Alternate Spellings:

Quadriceps muscle
Quadriceps
Quads

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Quadriceps muscles

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References

Anatomy: Lower limb

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Quadriceps muscles

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Anatomy: Lower limb

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