Click on the structure to specify the target of your label
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
01 |  |
Flexor digitorum brevis
Other Terms:
Flexor digitorum brevis of foot,
Musculus flexor digitorum brevis,
Muscle court fléchisseur des orteils
Muscle parts
None
Latin name
Musculus flexor digitorum brevis
Latin muscle parts
None
Group
Foot muscle – plantar group – first layer
Etymology
In English this muscle’s name is the short muscle that bends the toes. The word flexor comes from the Latin flectere meaning “to bend.” The term digitorum is from the Latin digitus, which originally meant the “pointing thing,” a term that is similar to the Sanskrit word “dic” meaning to show or point out. Because we point with our fingers the term was applied to the fingers and then the toes. Brevis is the Latin term meaning “short.” This is being used as a comparative reference to a longer muscle that does the same thing.
Origin
Medial aspect of calcaneal tuberosity and the deep surface of the plantar aponeurosis.
Insertion
Attaches to the middle phalanx behind the flexor digitorum longus thus forming a tunnel for this muscle. Also sends slips to both sides of the middle phalanx.
Action
Flexion of metatarsophalangeal joints and proximal interphalangeal joints of toes 2, 3, and 4; important role in deepening the longitudinal plantar arch when pushing off the ground with the toes (as in walking).
Nerve supply
Medial plantar nerve (S1 and S2)
Blood supply
The belly of the muscle receives blood from the lateral and medial plantar arteries and the plantar metatarsal arteries. The tendons are supplied by the plantar digital arteries.
Latin
Musculus flexor digitorum brevis
French
Muscle court fléchisseur des orteils
