Piriform muscle
Musculus piriformis
Abducts the thigh.
About the piriform muscle of the cat
Piriform muscle 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 piriformis. You can turn it above, see it in place in the back leg of the cat, 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
- Transverse processes of the last two sacral and the first caudal vertebrae.
- Insertion
- Proximal border of the greater trochanter, after passing through the greater ischiatic notch.
- Action
- Abducts the thigh.
- Nerve
- Caudal gluteal nerve.
Written for Vetomica in its own words from the standard reference anatomy of the cat; the books it was checked against are listed below.
Terminology
- English
- Piriform muscle
- Latin (NAV)
- Musculus piriformis
- Status
- A valid term in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria
Questions about the piriform muscle
- What is the Latin name of the piriform muscle?
- In the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria, the piriform muscle is called Musculus piriformis.
- Where is the piriform muscle of the cat?
- Piriform muscle is a muscle of the back leg (pelvic limb), one on each side of the body.
- Where does the piriform muscle originate and insert?
- Origin: Transverse processes of the last two sacral and the first caudal vertebrae. Insertion: Proximal border of the greater trochanter, after passing through the greater ischiatic notch.
- What nerve supplies the piriform muscle?
- Caudal gluteal nerve.
- What does the piriform muscle do?
- Abducts the thigh.
See the piriform muscle inside the whole cat.
Vetomica opens on this structure with every layer of the cat 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.
