The adductor minimus muscle revisited

Abstract

The adductor minimus muscle has had scant and conflicting reports regarding its anatomy with some authors ignoring its existence altogether. The present study was conducted to more precisely describe the anatomy of this muscle. Forty human cadavers underwent dissection of the posterior thigh for observation of the adductor minimus muscle. When identified, this muscle was measured and relationships to the muscle documented. Additionally, five fetuses were dissected to observe for the presence of the adductor minimus muscle. The adductor minimus muscle was found in roughly one half of our specimens and was seen in all fetal specimens. When absent, the quadratus femoris muscle was always more prominent and extended more inferiorly toward the territory of the adductor minimus muscle. The average maximal length, width and thickness for the adductor minimus muscle was 14.6 cm, 7 cm, and 2.25 mm, respectively. Such data may be of consequence to clinicians who rehabilitate posterior thigh musculature or surgeons who operate this region.

Morphologic and morphometric characteristics of the adductor minimus in Korean: its topographic relationship with respect to neighbouring anatomical structure and clinical significance

“…However, the AMi is more active than the AMa during external rotation of hip joint. The AMi has also been suggested that it could be used as a landmark for identifying the posterior extent of the medial femoral circumflex artery and the first perforating artery for vascular anastomosis or for avoiding vascular structures [22]. In the present study, the medial circumflex femoral artery was always found at the superior border of the AMi, whereas the first perforating artery was only found at the inferior border of the muscle in 55.6% of the specimens.…”

“…There are two kinds of muscles being able to confuse physicians in the adductor region through reviews of the previous literatures: the AMi and SM. The AMi is small, flat, and can be distinguished at the posterior part of the adductor brevis and the upper part of the AMa [22]. This muscle originates predominantly from the inferior ramus of the pubis [22] or the ischiopubic ramus [23] and inserts into the femur, and is innervated by the obturator nerve.…”

“…The AMi is small, flat, and can be distinguished at the posterior part of the adductor brevis and the upper part of the AMa [22]. This muscle originates predominantly from the inferior ramus of the pubis [22] or the ischiopubic ramus [23] and inserts into the femur, and is innervated by the obturator nerve. The descriptions of the origin and insertion of the muscle are broadly consistent in the anatomical literature, whereas those related to distinguishing the muscle have been inconsistent: some authors have regarded this muscle as the upper part of the AMa [24][25][26][27], while others have suggested that it is independent of adjacent muscles [28][29][30].…”

“…Some textbooks do not even mention this muscle at all [30(31)-32 (33)]. The AMi is normally present in apes such as gorillas and chimpanzees [34], while its incidence in humans has been reported as 32% to 92% of the specimens according to the different populations [22,23,35] ( Table 3). The present study found that its incidence was 94.4% in Korean cadavers, which was similar with the previous study using same race [35].…”

Variation of pectineus muscle forming a hiatus

“…The adductor longus is occasionally double (Standring 2016 ). The adductor minimus, completely distinct from the adductor magnus, was observed in 52.5% of the thighs by Tubbs et al In the same study, partially divided muscles were also observed in 24% of the thighs (Tubbs et al 2011 ). In addition, the supernumerary muscle, having a probable developmental origin from the obturator externus, was described (Nakamura et al 1992 ).…”