Gemellus inferior
The gemellus inferior is an important muscle connecting the upper legs to the pelvic region. Two of these muscles are present in the human body, with one for each leg. The muscle enables the rotation of the thigh in a lateral or outward motion. In rare cases, the muscle may be absent from the human body, but the condition may not be noticed easily because of the presence of other muscles that facilitate the lateral motion of the thighs.
This muscle originates from the upper part of the ischial tuberosity. It runs laterally along the posterior part of the femur and is connected with the obturator internus muscular tendon. It goes into the central part of the trochanteric fossa. The muscle, along with its surrounding muscles, is supplied with oxygen by the inferior gluteal artery. This artery belongs to a branch that is the primary source of blood supply to the hips and the posterior thigh region.
The role of gemellus inferior, in addition to lateral motion of the hip, includes hip stability, extension, and abduction with the flexed thighs. The absence of this muscle in exceptional cases may result in poor hip stabilization over the passage of time.
Watch Videos
Written and medically reviewed by the Healthline Editorial Team
Co-developed by:
In Depth: Gemellus inferior
Debugging Tools
Level: 3
Frame: 9
Toggle Hotspot
VP Data Tool
HexTable json from Steve
Steve's ajax layer update call:
[still on original layer]
Ad values:
adModel.dfpAdSite: hn.us.hl.bm.x.x.x
adParams['k1']: othermusculoskeletaldisorders,inferior_gemellus_muscle,9104293
More on BodyMaps
Take a Video Tour
Learn how to rotate, look inside and explore the human body. Take the tour
BodyMaps Feedback
How do you like BodyMaps? How can we improve it? Tell us what you think
Advertisement