Anterior compartment of the forearm
Encyclopedia
The anterior compartment of the forearm (or flexor compartment) contains the following muscles:
The muscles are largely involved with flexion
and pronation
. The superficial muscles have their origin on the common flexor tendon
. The ulnar nerve
and artery
are also contained within this compartment.
| Level | Muscle | E/I | Nerve >- | superficial |
flexor carpi radialis | E | >- | palmaris longus | E | >- | flexor carpi ulnaris | E | >- | pronator teres | I | >- | flexor digitorum superficialis | E | >- | flexor digitorum profundus | E | >- | flexor pollicis longus | E | >- | pronator quadratus Pronator quadratus Pronator quadratus is a square shaped muscle on the distal forearm that acts to pronate the hand.As it is on the anterior side of the arm, it is innervated by a branch of the median nerve, the anterior interosseous nerve... |
I | median (as anterior interosseous nerve) |
- "E/I" refers to "extrinsic" or "intrinsic".
The muscles are largely involved with flexion
Flexion
In anatomy, flexion is a position that is made possible by the joint angle decreasing. The skeletal and muscular systems work together to move the joint into a "flexed" position. For example the elbow is flexed when the hand is brought closer to the shoulder...
and pronation
Pronation
In anatomy, pronation is a rotational movement of the forearm at the radioulnar joint, or of the foot at the subtalar and talocalcaneonavicular joints. For the forearm, when standing in the anatomical position, pronation will move the palm of the hand from an anterior-facing position to a...
. The superficial muscles have their origin on the common flexor tendon
Common flexor tendon
The common flexor tendon is a tendon shared by a number of superficial flexor muscles in the forearm. It attaches to the medial epicondyle of the humerus....
. The ulnar nerve
Ulnar nerve
In human anatomy, the ulnar nerve is a nerve which runs near the ulna bone. The ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint is in relation with the ulnar nerve. The nerve is the largest unprotected nerve in the human body , so injury is common...
and artery
Ulnar artery
The ulnar artery is the main blood vessel, with oxygenated blood, of the medial aspect of the forearm. It arises from the brachial artery and terminates in the superficial palmar arch, which joins with the superficial branch of the radial artery...
are also contained within this compartment.
External links
- Topographical Anatomy of the Upper Limb - Listed Alphabetically University of ArkansasUniversity of ArkansasThe University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...