The lateral rotator group is a group of six small
muscles of the hip
In human anatomy, the muscles of the hip joint are those muscles that cause movement in the hip. Most modern anatomists define 17 of these muscles, although some additional muscles may sometimes be considered. These are often divided into four ...
which all
externally (laterally) rotate the
femur
The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates ...
in the
hip joint
In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint.
The hip region is ...
. It consists of the following muscles:
piriformis,
gemellus superior,
obturator internus,
gemellus inferior,
quadratus femoris and the
obturator externus.
All muscles in the lateral rotator group
originate from the
hip bone
The hip bone (os coxae, innominate bone, pelvic bone or coxal bone) is a large flat bone, constricted in the center and expanded above and below. In some vertebrates (including humans before puberty) it is composed of three parts: the ilium, isch ...
and
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on to the
upper extremity of the femur. The muscles are innervated by the
sacral plexus (
L4-
S2), except the
obturator externus muscle, which is innervated by the
lumbar plexus.
Individual muscles
Other lateral rotators
This group does not include all muscles which aid in lateral rotation of the hip joint: rather it is a collection of ones which are known for primarily performing this action. Other muscles that contribute to lateral rotation of the hip include:
*
Gluteus maximus muscle (lower fibres)
*
Gluteus medius muscle and
gluteus minimus muscle when the hip is flexed (become medial rotators when hip is extended)
*
Psoas major muscle
The psoas major ( or ; from grc, ψόᾱ, psóā, muscles of the loins) is a long fusiform muscle located in the lateral lumbar region between the vertebral column and the brim of the lesser pelvis. It joins the iliacus muscle to form the il ...
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Psoas minor muscle
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Sartorius muscle
The sartorius muscle () is the longest muscle in the human body. It is a long, thin, superficial muscle that runs down the length of the thigh in the anterior compartment.
Structure
The sartorius muscle originates from the anterior superior ili ...
Additional images
file:Superior gemellus.jpg, Dissection
Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...
of lateral rotator group ( obturator externus hidden under quadratus femoris muscle) seen from the back
file:Slide1BIBI.JPG, Muscles of thigh
In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip ( pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb.
The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of ...
as seen from the front
file:Slide8A.JPG, Cross section of pelvic region
See also
*
Hip anatomy
References
External links
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{{Muscles of lower limb
Hip lateral rotators
Muscles of the lower limb
Hip muscles
Deep lateral rotators of the hip