human anatomy Human anatomy (gr. ἀνατομία, "dissection", from ἀνά, "up", and τέμνειν, "cut") is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross ...

, the adductor minimus (adductor femoris minimus or adductor quartus) is a small and flat

skeletal muscle Skeletal muscle (commonly referred to as muscle) is one of the three types of vertebrate muscle tissue, the others being cardiac muscle and smooth muscle. They are part of the somatic nervous system, voluntary muscular system and typically are a ...

in the

thigh In 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 bone tissu ...

which constitutes the upper, lateral part of the

adductor magnus muscle The adductor magnus is a large triangular muscle, situated on the medial side of the thigh. It consists of two parts. The portion which arises from the ischiopubic ramus (a small part of the inferior ramus of the pubis, and the inferior ramus o ...

.Bergman, Ronald A.; Afifi, Adel K.; Miyauchi, Ryosuke (2010)
''Adductor Minimus (Henle, Günther)''
Anatomy Atlases It adducts and laterally rotates the femur.

Structure

The adductor minimus originates on the

pelvis The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an Anatomy, anatomical Trunk (anatomy), trunk, between the human abdomen, abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also c ...

at the

inferior ramus of the pubis In vertebrates, the pubis or pubic bone () forms the lower and anterior part of each side of the hip bone. The pubis is the most forward-facing (ventral and anterior) of the three bones that make up the hip bone. The left and right pubic bones ar ...

as the anterior-most part of the adductor magnus. It is inserted on the back of the

femur The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg. The Femo ...

at the medial lip of the ''

linea aspera The linea aspera () is a ridge of roughened surface on the posterior surface of the shaft of the femur. It is the site of attachments of muscles and the intermuscular septum. Its margins diverge above and below. The linea aspera is a prominent ...

'' and thus crosses the proximal part of the true adductor magnus.Platzer, Werner (2004),
Color Atlas of Human Anatomy, Vol. 1, Locomotor System
', Thieme, 5th ed, p 242 The adductor minimus and the adductor magnus are frequently separated by a branch of the superior perforating branch of the

profunda femoris artery The deep femoral artery also known as the deep artery of the thigh, or profunda femoris artery, is a large branch of the femoral artery. It travels more deeply ("profoundly") than the rest of the femoral artery. It gives rise to the lateral ci ...

and the former muscle is considered independent from the latter because it is primarily a separate entity.

Innervation

It shares innervation with the adductor magnus; the

obturator nerve The obturator nerve in human anatomy arises from the ventral divisions of the second, third, and fourth lumbar nerves in the lumbar plexus; the branch from the third is the largest, while that from the second is often very small. Structure The o ...

supplies the part attached to the ''linea aspera'' while the

tibial nerve The tibial nerve is a branch of the sciatic nerve. The tibial nerve passes through the popliteal fossa to pass below the arch of soleus. Structure Popliteal fossa The tibial nerve is the larger terminal branch of the sciatic nerve with root val ...

(L3-5), a branch of the

sciatic nerve The sciatic nerve, also called the ischiadic nerve, is a large nerve in humans and other vertebrate animals. It is the largest branch of the sacral plexus and runs alongside the hip joint and down the right lower limb. It is the longest and widest ...

, supplies the part inserted onto adductor tubercle.

Variation

In 33% of people, a

supernumerary Supernumerary means "exceeding the usual number". Supernumerary may also refer to: * Supernumerary actor, a performer in a film, television show, or stage production who has no role or purpose other than to appear in the background, more common ...

muscle is found between the adductor brevis and minimus. When present, this muscle originates from the upper part of the

from where it runs downwards and laterally. In half of cases, it inserts into the anterior surface of the insertion

aponeurosis An aponeurosis (; : aponeuroses) is a flattened tendon by which muscle attaches to bone or fascia. Aponeuroses exhibit an ordered arrangement of collagen fibres, thus attaining high tensile strength in a particular direction while being vulnerable ...

of the adductor minimus. In the remaining cases, it is either inserted into the upper part of the pectineal line or the posterior part of the

lesser trochanter In human anatomy, the lesser trochanter is a conical, posteromedial, bony projection from the shaft of the femur. It serves as the principal insertion site of the iliopsoas muscle. Structure The lesser trochanter is a conical posteromedial p ...

. While similar to its neighbouring adductors, it is formed by separation from the superficial layer of the

obturator externus The external obturator muscle or obturator externus muscle (; OE) is a flat, triangular muscle, which covers the outer surface of the anterior wall of the pelvis. It is sometimes considered part of the medial compartment of thigh, and sometime ...

, and is thus not ontogenetically related to the adductors.

References

{{Authority control Hip adductors Thigh muscles Medial compartment of thigh