The tensor vastus intermedius is a muscle in the

anterior compartment of thigh The anterior compartment of thigh contains muscles which extend the knee and flex the hip. Structure The anterior compartment is one of the fascial compartments of the thigh that contains groups of muscles together with their nerves and blood s ...

. It lies between the vastus intermedius and the vastus lateralis. The term tensor vastus intermedius was given by Grob et al. in 2016, although the structure had been reported previously.

Structure

The tensor vastus intermedius muscle originates from the proximal part of

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 wit ...

specifically from the anterior part of the greater trochanter. The muscle lies anterior to the vastus intermedius but deep to the

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 atta ...

. The tendinous part of the muscle is closely related to, and sometimes fuses with, the

aponeurosis An aponeurosis (; plural: ''aponeuroses'') is a type or a variant of the deep fascia, in the form of a sheet of pearly-white fibrous tissue that attaches sheet-like muscles needing a wide area of attachment. Their primary function is to join muscl ...

of the vastus intermedius. Distally, it joins the

quadriceps tendon In human anatomy, the quadriceps tendon works with the Quadriceps muscle, quadriceps muscle to extend the leg. All four parts of the quadriceps muscle attach to the tuberosity of the tibia, shin via the patella (knee cap), where the quadriceps ten ...

and inserts to the medial aspect of the

patella The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as m ...

. It is supplied by the

femoral nerve The femoral nerve is a nerve in the thigh that supplies skin on the upper thigh and inner leg, and the muscles that extend the knee. Structure The femoral nerve is the major nerve supplying the anterior compartment of the thigh. It is the largest ...

and the lateral circumflex femoral artery.

Variations

This muscle is categorised into five types according to morphology: the independent type, VI-type, VL-type, common type and two-belly type. The independent type of the tensor vastus intermedius, also the most frequent type, has its tendon lying between the vastus intermedius and the vastus lateralis. For the VI-type and the VL-type, the tendinous part of the muscle is integrated into the fascia of the vastus intermedius and the vastus lateralis respectively. For the common type, it has a non-separable origin between the intertrochanteric line and greater trochanter. Two separate muscle bellies can be found for the two-belly types.

Functions

The tensor vastus intermedius muscle tenses on the aponeurosis of the vastus intermedius and also medialises the action of the muscle. It also acts as a second tensor in addition to the tensor fasciae latae.

Muscle architecture

Recently, ultrasound studies have provided insight into the muscle architecture of this musculature and its long tendon Particularly, these studies have suggested that the tensor of vastus intermedius has a small cross-sectional area compared to other individual quadriceps muscles.

References

{{Muscles of lower limb Knee extensors Thigh muscles Anterior compartment of thigh Muscles of the lower limb

Structure

Variations

Functions

Muscle architecture

See also

References