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Gluteus maximus
Other Terms:
M.gluteus maximus,
Musculus gluteus maximus,
Muscle grand fessier
Muscle parts
Femoral part; Iliotibial tract part
Latin name
Musculus gluteus maximus
Latin muscle parts
Pars femoralis; Pars tractus iliotibialis
Group
Hip joint muscle – gluteal group
Etymology
In English, this muscle’s name is the greatest muscle of the buttocks. The term gluteus comes from the Greek gloutos meaning “buttocks.”The word maximus is Latin for “greatest.”
Origin
From the rough aspect of the ilium behind the posterior gluteal line, the posterior iliac crest, the lower posterior sacrum, the side of the coccyx, and the fascia of the gluteus medius.
Insertion
The massive upper two-thirds of the muscle attaches into the iliotibial tract of the fascia lata; the lower third attaches to the gluteal tuberosity.
Action
Extends the flexed thigh and lateral rotation of hip (can move the trunk or thigh, depending on which is fixed); Upper fibers assist with abduction of the hip joint; it tenses the iliotibial tract and the fascia lata and accordingly stabilizes the femur on the tibia.
Nerve supply
Inferior gluteal nerve (L5, S1, and S2)
Blood supply
This large muscle is supplied by numerous branches from the internal iliac artery including the inferior and superior gluteal arteries, the dorsal branches of the lateral sacral arteries, and the internal pudendal artery. It also receives blood from the lateral circumflex femoral artery.
Latin
Musculus gluteus maximus
French
Muscle grand fessier