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Information about Soleus

Muscles of lower extremity
The soleus muscle and surrounding structures, from Gray's Anatomy. This is a view of the back of the right leg; most of the gastrocnemius muscle has been removed.
subject #129 483
Origin:fibula, medial border of tibia (soleal line)
Insertion:tendo calcaneus
Artery:sural arteries
Nerve:tibial nerve, specifically, nerve roots L5–S2
Action:plantarflexion
Antagonist:Tibialis anterior muscle
In humans and some other mammals, the soleus is a powerful muscle in the back part of the lower leg (the calf). It runs from just below the knee to the heel, and is involved in standing and walking. It is closely connected to the gastrocnemius muscle and some anatomists consider them to be a single muscle, the triceps surae. Its name is derived from the solefish whose shape it resembles.

The soleus is located in the superficial posterior compartment of the leg. Not all mammals have a soleus muscle; one notable species that lacks the soleus is the dog.

Origin and insertion

It originates from the posterior (back) surfaces of the head of the fibula and its upper third, as well as the middle third of the internal border of the tibia.

Its other end forms a common tendon with the gastrocnemius muscle; this tendon is known as the calcaneal tendon or Achilles tendon and inserts onto the posterior surface of the calcaneus, or heel bone.

Relations

Superficial to the soleus (closer to the skin) is the gastrocnemius muscle.

The plantaris muscle and a portion of its tendon run between the two muscles. Deep to it (farther from the skin) is the transverse intermuscular septum, which separates the superficial posterior compartment of the leg from the deep posterior compartment.

On the other side of the fascia are the tibialis posterior muscle, the flexor digitorum longus muscle, and the flexor hallucis longus muscle, along with the posterior tibial artery and posterior tibial vein and the tibial nerve.

Since the anterior compartment of the leg is lateral to the tibia, the bulge of muscle medial to the tibia on the anterior side is actually the posterior compartment. The soleus is superficial midshaft of the tibia.

Function

The action of the calf muscles, including the soleus, is to plantar flex the foot (that is, they increase the angle between the foot and the leg).

They are powerful muscles and are vital in walking, running, and dancing.

The soleus specifically plays an important role in standing; if not for its constant pull, the body would fall forward.

Also, in upright posture, it is responsible for pumping venous blood back into the heart from the periphery, and is often called the peripheral heart or the sural (tricipital) pump [1].

Additional images


Bones of the right leg. Posterior surface.

Cross-section through middle of leg.

Back of left lower extremity.


References

  • Gray, Henry. Pick, T. Pickering, & Howden, Robert (Eds.) (1995). Gray's Anatomy (15th ed.). New York: Barnes & Noble Books.

External links

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Muscles of lower limbs
ILIAC REGION/ILIOPSOASpsoas major - psoas minor - iliacus
BUTTOCKSgluteals: (maximus, medius, minimus) - tensor fasciae latae
lateral rotator group: piriformis - obturator externus - obturator internus - inferior gemellus - superior gemellus - quadratus femoris
THIGHanterior compartment: sartorius - quadriceps (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis) - articularis genu
medial compartment/adductor: gracilis - pectineus - adductor brevis - adductor longus - adductor magnus
posterior compartment/hamstring: biceps femoris - semitendinosus, semimembranosus
LEGanterior compartment: tibialis anterior - extensor hallucis longus - extensor digitorum longus - fibularis tertius
posterior compartment: superficial - calf/triceps surae (gastrocnemius, soleus) - plantaris deep - popliteus - tarsal tunnel (flexor hallucis longus - flexor digitorum longus - tibialis posterior)
lateral compartment: fibularis muscles (longus - brevis)
FOOTdorsal - extensor digitorum brevis - extensor hallucis brevis
plantar first layer - abductor hallucis - flexor digitorum brevis - abductor digiti minimi
plantar second layer - quadratus plantae - lumbrical muscle
plantar third layer - flexor hallucis brevis - adductor hallucis - flexor digiti minimi brevis
plantar fourth layer - dorsal interossei - plantar interossei
Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (or Gray's Anatomy as it has commonly been shortened) is an English-language human anatomy textbook widely regarded as a classic work on the subject.
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bold refer to the diagram at right.)

In the skull (8):
  • 1-9. cranium
  • 7. mandible
''In the middle ears (6):
  • malleus
  • incus
  • stapes
In the throat (1):
  • hyoid
In the shoulder girdle (4):
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For other uses see fibula (disambiguation)


The fibula or calf bone is a bone located on the lateral side of the tibia, with which it is connected above and below.
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tibia is the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates.

In humans

The tibia or shin bone, in human anatomy, is found medial (towards the middle) and anterior (towards the front) to the other such bone, the fibula.
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The posterior surface of the tibia presents, at its upper part, a prominent ridge, the soleal line (popliteal line in older texts), which extends obliquely downward from the back part of the articular facet for the fibula to the medial border, at the junction of its upper
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bold refer to the diagram at right.)

In the skull (8):
  • 1-9. cranium
  • 7. mandible
''In the middle ears (6):
  • malleus
  • incus
  • stapes
In the throat (1):
  • hyoid
In the shoulder girdle (4):
..... Click the link for more information.
Achilles tendon (or occasionally Achilles’ tendon) also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendocalcaneous is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (heel) bone.
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Arteries are muscular blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.[1] All arteries, with the exception of the pulmonary and umbilical arteries, carry oxygenated blood.

The circulatory system is extremely important for sustaining life.
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The sural arteries (inferior muscular arteries) are two large branches, which are distributed to the Gastrocnemius, Soleus, and Plantaris.

They arise from the popliteal artery opposite the knee-joint.
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  • Accessory nerve
  • Accessory obturator nerve
  • Alderman's nerve
  • Anococcygeal nerve
  • Ansa cervicalis
  • Anterior interosseous nerve
  • Anterior superior alveolar nerve
  • Aortic plexus
  • Auerbach's plexus
  • Auriculotemporal nerve
  • Axillary nerve

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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.

In the popliteal fossa the nerve gives off branches to gastrocnemius, popliteus, soleus and plantaris, and the sural nerve.
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Kinesiology is the scientific study of the anatomy, physiology, and mechanics of body movement, especially in humans. [1] The word kinesiology is derived the Greek "kinesis" (motion) + the suffix -ology or -logy from the greek "logos" or "logia"(meaning a field of study).
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Plantarflexion is the movement which increases the angle between the foot and the leg, as when depressing an automobile pedal. The word "Plantar" translates as "toward the sole" ("Planta").

The movement in the opposite direction is Dorsiflexion.
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An antagonist is a kind of muscle that acts in opposition to the movement generated by the agonist and is responsible for returning a limb to its initial position.

Antagonistic pairs in houses

These antagonistic muscles are found in pairs called antagonistic pairs.
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In human anatomy, the tibialis anterior is a muscle in the shin that spans the length of the tibia. It originates in the upper two-thirds of the lateral surface of the tibia and inserts into the medial cuneiform and first metatarsal bones of the foot.
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MUSCLE (multiple sequence comparison by log-expectation) is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.
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A leg is the part of an animal's body that supports the rest of the animal above the ground between the ankle and the hip and is used for locomotion. The end of the leg furthest from the animal's body is often either modified or attached to another structure that is
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In human anatomy, the knee is the lower extremity joint connecting the femur and the tibia. Since in humans the knee supports nearly the entire weight of the body, it is the joint most vulnerable both to acute injury and to the development of osteoarthritis.
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The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.
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muscle is a powerful superficial muscle that is in the back part of the lower leg (the calf). It runs from its 2 heads just above the knee to the heel, and is involved in standing and walking. Along with the soleus muscle it forms the calf muscle.
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The triceps surae is a term given by some anatomists to the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles together as they both insert into the calcaneus, the bone of the heel of the human foot, and form the major part of the muscle of the back part of the lower leg (the calf; otherwise known
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The soles are flatfishes of various families. Narrowly speaking, they are the members of the family Soleidae, but, outside Europe, the name 'sole' is also applied to various other similar flatfish, especially other members of the sole
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The posterior compartment of the leg is supplied by the tibial nerve.

It contains the plantar flexors:[1]
  • deep: popliteus, flexor hallucis longus, flexor digitorum longus, tibialis posterior
  • superficial/calf: gastrocnemius, soleus, plantaris


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C. l. familiaris

Trinomial name
Canis lupus familiaris
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora.
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For other uses see fibula (disambiguation)


The fibula or calf bone is a bone located on the lateral side of the tibia, with which it is connected above and below.
..... Click the link for more information.
tibia is the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates.

In humans

The tibia or shin bone, in human anatomy, is found medial (towards the middle) and anterior (towards the front) to the other such bone, the fibula.
..... Click the link for more information.
A tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone and is built to withstand tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments except that ligaments join one bone to another.
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Achilles tendon (or occasionally Achilles’ tendon) also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendocalcaneous is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (heel) bone.
..... Click the link for more information.
Achilles tendon (or occasionally Achilles’ tendon) also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendocalcaneous is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (heel) bone.
..... Click the link for more information.
calcaneus forms part of the tarsi and constitutes the heel of the human foot or the point of an animal's hock . It is also known as the heel bone.

Human

It articulates with two other tarsal bones, the talus above and the cuboid toward the midfoot.
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