Gracilis
Musculus gracilis
Adducts the limb, extends the hip and tarsus and flexes the stifle.
About the gracilis of the dog
Gracilis is a muscle of the back leg (pelvic limb), one on each side of the body. Its name in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria is Musculus gracilis. Broad superficial muscle of the caudomedial thigh. You can turn it above, see it in place in the back leg of the dog, and open it inside the whole animal in Vetomica.
Where it runs from and to
A muscle is told apart from its neighbours by what it takes hold of at each end, which is also what decides what it does when it shortens.
- Origin
- Pelvic symphysis by means of the symphyseal tendon.
- Insertion
- Cranial tibial border through crural fascia, with a contribution to the calcanean tendon.
- Action
- Adducts the limb, extends the hip and tarsus and flexes the stifle.
- Nerve
- Obturator nerve.
Written for Vetomica in its own words from the standard reference anatomy of the dog; the books it was checked against are listed below.
What it works on
Broad superficial muscle of the caudomedial thigh.
Bones it takes hold of
Joints it moves
- Pelvic symphysis
Muscles and ligaments it works with
- Semimembranosus
- Semitendinosus
- Adductor magnus muscle
- Sartorius caudal part
- Pectineus
- Symphyseal tendon
- Accessory calcanean tendon
Terminology
- English
- Gracilis
- Latin (NAV)
- Musculus gracilis
- Status
- A valid term in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria
References
Where to read this structure in full, and where the named parts above were read.
- NAV 2017Myologia: musculi membri pelvini
- Miller's Anatomy of the Dog, 5th ed.The Muscular System: muscles of the pelvic limb
- König & LiebichMuscles of the pelvic limb
- Dyce, Sack & WensingThe hindlimb of the carnivores
The gracilis in other animals
The same structure in the other animals in the Library, to compare.
Questions about the gracilis
- What is the Latin name of the gracilis?
- In the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria, the gracilis is called Musculus gracilis.
- Where is the gracilis of the dog?
- Gracilis is a muscle of the back leg (pelvic limb), one on each side of the body.
- Which bones does the gracilis attach to?
- Gracilis takes hold of Pubis, Ischium, Tibia and Calcaneus.
- Where does the gracilis originate and insert?
- Origin: Pelvic symphysis by means of the symphyseal tendon. Insertion: Cranial tibial border through crural fascia, with a contribution to the calcanean tendon.
- What nerve supplies the gracilis?
- Obturator nerve.
- What does the gracilis do?
- Adducts the limb, extends the hip and tarsus and flexes the stifle.
See the gracilis inside the whole dog.
Vetomica opens on this structure with every layer of the dog around it: peel back the skin and the muscles, cut a section through it, X-ray it, and practise naming it until you stop getting it wrong.
Free for 7 days, no card. After that the skeletons stay free.
