Your Monday Muscle: #7 Rectus Femoris

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Rectus Femoris

Rectus Femoris.

The rectus femoris muscle is one of the four quadriceps muscles of the human body. The others are the vastus medialis, the vastus intermedius (deep to the rectus femoris), and the vastus lateralis. All four parts of the quadriceps muscle attach to the patella (knee cap) via the quadriceps tendon.

The rectus femoris is situated in the middle of the front of the thigh; it is fusiform in shape, and its superficial fibers are arranged in a bipenniform manner, the deep fibers running straight (rectus) down to the deep aponeurosis. Its functions are to flex the thigh at the hip joint and to extend the leg at the knee joint.[1]

Fun Facts about the Quadriceps and rectus femoris

  • Did you know that the Rectus Femoris is the strongest and leanest muscle in the human body?
  • Did you know that the Rectus Femoris is the only quad that isn’t actually attached to the femur (thigh bone) but actually is attached below the knee and to the pelvis. So it can both straighten the leg and bend the hip!?
  • The Latin full formal name for quadriceps is musculus quadriceps femoris, and the meaning literally translates to “four-headed muscle of the femur”.
  • President Bill Clinton had surgery in 1997 to repair the quadriceps tendon in his right knee, which he tore stumbling on steps.
  • Arnold Shwarzenaeger has just about as many muscle fibers in his quads as you do. They’re just thicker.[2]
  • The quadriceps are used for knee extension, cycling, climbing stairs. Squats or leg extensions on a machine will develop this muscle.[3]

There is a fifth muscle of the quadriceps complex that is often forgotten and rarely taught called articularis genus. In addition, recent cadaver studies have confirmed the presence of a sixth muscle, the tensor vastus intermedius.[4]

Sources:

  1. Sportsmedicine: Rectus Femoris. Sportsmedicine.about.com.
  2. Fun Facts – Rectus Femoris, ihavehugequads.weebly.com
  3. Muscle: Interesting Facts, Names, and Function, infolific.com
  4. Quadriceps femoris muscle, sussie.org

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