Function & Anatomy of the Muscles of the Chest and One of the main smooth muscles inside the

s inside the chest is the

Abdomen
Axial vs. Appendicular Muscles
Ever think about what's underneath your skin? What
would your face look like without skin covering it up? Or
your chest? Or your back? Probably pretty gruesome, or
maybe pretty cool, depending on who you are. Well,
underneath all that skin that you're used to looking at
every day are the muscles that do all the work of
moving your body.
If you've been following some of our other lessons on
muscle anatomy, you may recall that, just like the
skeleton, the muscles of the body can be divided into
two groups based on location. The appendicular
muscles are attached to the appendicular skeleton.
Those would be the muscles making up your arms,
shoulders, hips and legs. And, the axial muscles are the
muscles attached to your axial skeleton. So, that would
be the muscles of your head, neck, chest, abdomen and
back.
diaphragm. Located between the upper chest and
abdomen, the diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle
responsible for enabling us to breathe. It works
together with muscles of the ribs to alter the pressure in
the lungs as you breathe in and out.
On the outside of the ribs we have the skeletal muscles.
Skeletal muscles make up most of your external
muscles and are attached to the bones of your skeleton.
These muscles are voluntary muscles, meaning that they
are consciously controlled by you; you can choose to
move them. For example, when you want to throw a
ball, you have to think about the action; your arm
doesn't just pick up and throw a ball without you
knowing it. Skeletal muscles:
 Have larger muscle cells (or fibers) than smooth
muscles
 Contract faster and with more force
 Have striations on them that we don't see in
smooth muscles

The axial muscles may not have as much range of

motion as your appendicular muscles do, but they are
important in providing support and protection for your
internal organs. They also control facial expression, neck
movement, spinal rotation and even breathing. That's
because your axial muscles are found on your face, your
neck and the trunk of your body. Did you know you had
a trunk? Not a trunk like an elephant's - this one is made
up of your chest, abdomen and back.

Muscles of the Chest

Let's take a look at some of the muscles of the chest and
abdomen in this lesson. Muscles of the chest, also called
the thorax, include both smooth muscles and skeletal
muscles. You may recall from other lessons that smooth
muscles are found in many of your internal organs and
blood vessels. They are involuntary muscles, meaning
they aren't under conscious control. For example, you
don't have to think 'digest' to make your stomach digest
food or to make your intestines move food through
your body. Smooth muscles:
Skeletal muscles of the chest are attached to the ribs
and sternum. These muscles also attach to the scapula,
clavicle, vertebrae and neck. Muscles located in
between your ribs are called intercostal muscles ('inter'
because they are 'in-between'). To the sides of your rib
cage are the serratus muscles, which originate on the
ribs and insert at the back, along the scapula. Together
with the pectoral and teres muscles, they assist in
shoulder movements and in raising the arm, making
them appendicular muscles.

 Have smaller individual muscle cells than

skeletal muscles
 Lack the striations (or stripes) that are visible on
skeletal muscles (that's why they're called
smooth muscles)
 Contract slower than skeletal muscles do

Many muscles of the chest function to pull the body

inward. What do I mean by inward? Well, imagine
you're standing up straight, or you can just go ahead
and stand up straight if you want. Now, hunch or pull
your shoulders and arms toward your chest. This
movement is pulling your upper body inward, toward
the center of your chest, and is performed by the
skeletal muscles of your chest.
Muscles of the Abdomen
Underneath the upper chest are axial muscles of the
abdomen. These can be divided into the oblique and
abdominus muscles. They surround the internal organs,
providing a protective barrier between them and the
external environment.
The oblique muscles wrap around the sides of your
trunk in a circular pattern. There are two oblique layers:
an external and an internal layer. The external layer is
located directly under your skin; this is followed by the
internal layer and then by a layer called the transverse
abdominus. Together, these three layers help compress
the abdomen and flex and extend the vertebral column.
Basically, they're the muscles that allow you to bend
sideways.
your ribs. Some of them, like the pectoral, teres and
serratus muscles, are also involved in shoulder
movements. The chest is separated from the abdomen
by the diaphragm, a large smooth muscle that enables
us to breathe by changing the air pressure in the lungs.
Underneath the diaphragm are the abdominal muscles.
The oblique muscles run horizontally around the sides
of the trunk. Together with the transverse abdominus,
they help compress the abdomen, flex and extend the
vertebral column. Running vertically along the abdomen
are the rectus abdominus muscles, which depress the
ribs and flex the vertebral column. Together, all the
muscles of the abdomen and chest stabilize the trunk
and help you maintain good posture.
Muscular Function and Anatomy of the Arms: Major
Muscle Groups

Axial vs. Appendicular Muscles

The hand bone's connected to the wrist bone, the wrist

bone's connected to the...oh wait, wrong system! Okay,
so maybe there is no fun song or easy way to remember
all the muscles of the muscular system but we're going
to help you try! Well, maybe not all the muscles; I think
we'll just focus on a few of the more well known, or
major, muscles.
The front of the abdomen is made up of the rectus
But, even though there may not be a song for muscles
abdominus muscles, or your 'abs' for short – you know,
like there is for bones, they do have something in
the ones that make up the coveted 6-pack, even though
common: their organization. You see, just like the
really it's an 8-pack.
skeletal system is divided into the axial skeleton (that's
This is the most superficial (that means closest to the the head and vertebral column) and the appendicular
top) of all the abdominal muscles. You can see its skeleton (that's pretty much the rest of the bones), the
location below, where it originates down at the front muscle system is also divided.
part of the pelvic girdle, known as the pubis symphysis,
Axial muscles are those connected to the axial skeleton,
and inserts all the way up on your ribs and sternum.
like the muscles found on your back, head and chest.
These muscles work together with the obliques and the
Appendicular muscles are those connected to the
transverse abdominus to help you maintain good
appendicular skeleton, such as the muscles found on
posture. They also depress your ribs, pulling them down
your arms and legs.
toward your stomach, and flex your vertebral column;
you can see this function when you do sit-ups. In this lesson, we are going to focus on some of the
appendicular muscles of the upper limbs, or 'arms' in
Together, all the muscles of the abdomen stabilize your
layman's terms.
trunk area and are responsible for all the mobility you
have in that region. That's why, as annoying as crunches Muscles of the Shoulder
are, it is important to maintain strength in these
Let's start at the top - that would be the shoulder. The
muscles.
ability to move and rotate your shoulder comes from
Lesson Summary the presence of numerous muscles, each in charge of
different directions of rotations. Some of the main
So, let's go back and review. On the upper body we
muscles of the shoulder that move the upper arm
have muscles of the chest and muscles of the abdomen.
include the deltoid and the pectoralis major.
The upper chest muscles include the intercostal,
serratus, pectoral and teres muscles. These muscles
attach to one or more of the following: the ribs,
sternum, scapula, clavicle, vertebrae and neck. They pull
the shoulders and chest inward, towards the center of
The deltoid is this muscle on the right on the image
above, right at the shoulder joint. You could say that
this is the muscle that gives your shoulder that rounded
shape that it has. It stabilizes and moves the shoulder
and arm. The deltoid is the main abductor muscle of the
shoulder, meaning it moves the arm away from the
center of the body.
The deltoid has three origin points along the scapula
and the clavicle - these bones below:
The origin points are stable and do not move, unlike the
insertion point of the muscle, below, which moves the
humerus bone of the upper arm.
The antagonist (or opposing muscle) to the deltoid is
the pectoralis major. This muscle is located on the
upper chest area and is kind of fan-like in shape. Similar
to the deltoid, the pectoralis major has multiple origin
points, but just one insertion point. The origin points
are below, along the clavicle, sternum and abdomen,
while the insertion point is on the humerus, also seen
below.
So you can see, together the deltoid and pectoralis
major work to move the upper arm because both have
insertion points on the humerus. And, as you may have
guessed, since the pectoralis major is the opposite of
the deltoid, its function is to adduct the arm, moving it
closer to the center of the body.
Both of these muscles are aided by other muscles
around the shoulder, like the pectoralis minor,
latissimus dorsi and the teres muscles, helping them
raise, lower and rotate the arm.
Muscles That Move the Arm
Beneath the shoulder is the rest of the arm. Just like the
deltoid, two of the main muscles of the arms have their
origins on the scapula. These are the biceps brachii and
triceps brachii, or more commonly referred to as the
biceps and triceps. However, unlike the deltoid, these
two muscles insert on the bones of the forearm, the
radius and ulna.
These muscles work together to move the forearm. The
biceps is the agonist, and it inserts on the radius.
Contraction of the biceps flexes the arm, moving it
toward the humerus and shoulder. The triceps does the
opposite. It's the antagonist, and it inserts on the ulna.
Contraction of the triceps brings the arm back down,
extending it away from the humerus.
While these are probably the most well-known muscles
of the arm, they aren't the only muscles producing arm
movements. They are assisted by smaller muscles like
the brachialis and the brachioradialis, which help
initiate and stabilize arm movements.
In addition to flexing and extending the arm, we also
have the ability to rotate the arm, wrist and hands.
Rotation is controlled by two groups of muscles.
Pronator muscles turn your arm so the palm is facing
down towards the floor. The opposites to these are
called supinator muscles. These turn your palm upward,
toward the sky. Think of it like this: supinators turn your
palms upward, like you are cupping a bowl of soup. But,
if you turn your palms over, you are prone to tip or spill
your soup.
Muscles That Move the Wrist and Hand
Other muscles are located in the forearm, even though
they control your wrist and hands. These include the
carpi muscles , which flex and extend the wrist, as well
as muscles that flex and extend the fingers. These
muscles span the forearm, but end at the wrist. From
there, tendons extend from the muscles down into the
fingers.

Some of these muscles and tendons are specialized for
strength and larger movements of the hand: these are
extrinsic muscles. Other muscles in your hands
specialize in finer movements, like writing: those are
called intrinsic muscles.
Lesson Summary
All together these muscles allow you to do things like
throwing a ball, lifting your child or favorite pet off the
ground and playing video games or writing a song. The
shoulder muscles include the deltoid and pectoralis
major, which rotate the shoulder and move the arm
toward and away from the center of the body.
The muscles of the upper arm include the biceps and
triceps. This pair of muscles performs the opposite
actions of flexing and extending the arm. Other muscle
groups are responsible for the flexion and extension of
the wrist, the rotation of the arm and the finer
movements of our fingers.
Let's do one last exercise: place your arms out, in the
pronation position. Now, in general, most of the
muscles responsible for extension of the arm, wrist and
fingers are located on the dorsal side of the arm - that's
this side here:
Now, turn so your arm is palm side up, in the supination
position. This side contains most of the muscles
responsible for flexion of the arm, wrist and fingers, and
it's called the ventral side.
And there you have it, a brief but informative lesson on
the anatomy of the arm! Be sure to check out other
lessons on the muscles of the legs, back and abdomen.
Muscular Function and Anatomy of the Upper Leg
The Pelvic Girdle
So, how many of you are runners? Or, who likes
dancing, playing football, or maybe soccer? What do all
of these sports have in common? Not sure? Well, it's a
lot simpler than you might think. They all involve the
use of your legs! The muscles of your legs are called
appendicular muscles because they are attached to the
bones of the appendicular skeleton. This attachment
site is called the pelvic girdle, these bones here, which
are attached to the axial skeleton here at the sacrum.
On top of the pelvic bones are muscles that move the
hips, or pelvis. These movements consist mostly of
rotation of the hips, side-to-side movement, or back-
and-forth movements and are often paired with
movements of the thigh or upper part of the leg. All of
the muscles that move your legs can be divided into
three groups: muscles that move the thigh, muscles that
move the leg, and muscles that move the foot and toes.
We'll start at the top, with the muscles that move the
hip and thigh, and focus on the muscles above the knee
in this lesson.
Muscles That Move the Hip and Thigh
First up: the gluteus maximus, or your butt muscle. This
muscle is the largest and most well-known of the
gluteal group of muscles, which includes the gluteus
medius, maximus, and minimus, as well as the tensor
fasciae latae. Together, these muscles extend, flex, and
rotate the hip. The origin points for these muscles are
on the posterior side of the illium of the pelvic bone,
this part here. Some, like the gluteus maximus, have
multiple origin points and also originate from the
sacrum and coccyx, these bones here.
These muscles all insert either on the femur, the large
bone of the upper leg, or the iliotibial tract. This is a
tract of collagen fibers that extends from the hip along
the thigh and down to the tibia of the lower leg,
inserting just below the knee. This IT band, as it is
commonly called, helps support the knee and flex,
abduct, and rotate the thigh at the hip joint. Remember,
abduction is the movement of a part of the body away
from the center of the body, while adduction is
movement toward the center of the body.
I know these terms are easy to confuse, but if you think
about it, what does the word 'abduct' mean? If
somebody is abducted by aliens, they are taken away
from Earth, right? So 'abduction' equals 'away from,'
while 'adduction' equals 'adding to' or 'bringing back
towards' the body. Not so hard to remember now,
right?
Underneath the gluteal muscles are other muscles
involved in movement of the hip and thigh, the lateral
rotator group, which, as its name suggests, rotates the
hip laterally, away from the body, like this. Below this
group are the adductors, which move the hip back
toward the body. All of the adductor muscles, as their
name suggests, perform hip adduction, and some also
perform flexion and extension of the hip. Whenever
someone suffers from a pulled groin, it's usually
because one of these muscles has been injured.
Muscles That Move the Leg
Underneath the hip and thigh are the muscles that
move the leg. These can be divided into muscles that
flex the leg and those that extend the leg. This flexion
and extension occurs at the knee. Most of the muscles
involved in flexion of the knee and leg are located along
the back (or posterior) and side surfaces of the leg.
These muscles include the biceps femoris. Hmm, that
'biceps' term sounds familiar, doesn't it? That's right;
doesn't the biceps brachii flex the arm? Well, the biceps
femoris flexes the leg at the knee. This can pull the
lower leg up or move the entire leg back, away from the
body. This motion is aided by other flexors, and
together, they are referred to as the hamstrings. The
hamstring muscles originate up here at the pelvic bone
and insert down here on the tibia and fibula of the
lower leg.
The hamstrings are the opposing muscles, or
antagonists, to the quadriceps muscles located on the
front, or ventral, side of the leg. When the quads
contract to extend your knee, they pull your leg up and
allow you to move it away from your body. In this way,
they are the prime mover, or the agonist. When the
hamstrings contract, they pull the leg back, toward your
body. You can see this action most easily when you're
walking or running.
The quadriceps are made up of four knee extensor
muscles, which extend the lower leg at the knee. They
push the leg forward, away from the body. All except
the rectus femoris originate up here along the femur
bone of the upper leg and insert down at the patella, or
the knee cap. The rectus actually originates further up
at the iliac spine of the pelvic bone but still inserts down
at the patella.
Lesson Summary
And those are just the leg muscles above the knee! We
haven't even gotten to muscles below the knee yet. But
don't worry, they have a lesson all their own! For now,
let's run through a quick review of the leg muscles
above the knee.
The muscles of the lower limbs, or legs, are considered
to be appendicular muscles because they are attached
to the bones of the appendicular skeleton. Both the
muscles and bones of the legs are attached to the axial
skeleton via the pelvic girdle.
On top of the pelvic girdle are muscles that move the
hips and thighs. The main muscles responsible for this
movement belong to the gluteal group. Underneath the
gluteal group are muscles of the lateral group. These
muscles control the lateral rotation of the hip, moving it
away from the body. Opposing these muscles are
adductors of the hip and thigh. Adductor muscles move
the hip and thigh back toward the body through medial
rotation, flexion, and extension.
On the outer surface of the upper leg we also have the
iliotibial band, or the IT band. The main function of this
band of collagen fibers is to help support the knee and
abduct and rotate the thigh. On either side of the IT
band are leg flexors and extensors.
These muscles, located on the back and front of your
thigh, are commonly called the hams and quads. These
are the primary muscles used in actions, like walking
and running, which require flexion and extension at the
knee joint. The quadriceps are located above the knee
on the front of your leg. They help extend the leg away
from your body and can also pull your leg upward, as
you can see in these exercises.
Opposing your quads are their antagonists, the
hamstrings, which flex the leg at the knee, moving it
towards the body as seen in these exercises. The main
flexor muscle of the hamstrings is the biceps femoris.
And if you've seen our lesson on the muscles of the
arms, you may have noticed some similarity in
organization. Just like the arms, the majority of the
extensor muscles are located on the dorsal side (this
side here) with the knee cap, while the flexor muscles
are located on the ventral side, or the back of the leg.
And that's it, some of the main muscles of the legs -
well, those located above the knee, anyhow. For the
muscles located below the knee, be sure to watch our
other lessons on muscle anatomy.
Muscular Function and Anatomy of the Lower Leg and
Foot
Movement
Movement, we all depend on it to survive. We depend
on our skeletal or voluntary muscles to get us from one
spot to another, and we depend on our involuntary or
smooth muscles to breath and digest - and even our
heart is a muscle, without which, we wouldn't be alive!
And, while we have tons of muscles in our bodies, the
ones most responsible for getting us from one place or
position to another are those found in our legs.
If you've been following some of our other lessons on
anatomy, you have probably already learned about the
leg muscles located above the knee. So, for this lesson,
we are going to go through some of the main muscles
located below the knee. These muscles are used in the
movement of the ankle, feet and toes.
The Knee Muscle
So, let's get started at the patella (that's your knee cap).
The popliteus muscle kind of has its own category; it's
neither below nor above, but is located at the knee. This
muscle allows you to unlock your knee during flexion of
the leg.
Flexion of a body part - in this case your lower leg - is a
bending motion at a joint that decreases the angle
between the two bones on either side of the joint. The
opposite of flexion is extension, which usually involves
the straightening of a bent joint, increasing the distance
between the bones on either side of the joint. So,
flexion of the knee brings the lower leg closer to the
upper leg. This movement is aided by the popliteal
muscle of the knee. It wraps around the back of the
knee, helping to stabilize your knee joint. When your
legs are moving, like running or walking, the popliteus
rotates the tibia bone inward, helping to initiate flexion
at the knee.
Other than the popliteus, all other muscles below the
knee are connected to the foot. They can be divided
into three general groups:
1. Muscles that flex or extend the foot
2. Muscles that flex and extend the toes
3. Muscles that support the structure of the foot
Movements of the Foot
Let's start with those that flex and extend the foot.
These muscles are located above, along the tibia and
fibula of the lower leg. The movement and structure of
your foot is probably more complex than you may have
thought. While they don't have all the dexterity that
your hands do, they can still move and rotate in
multiple directions requiring the use of many muscles.
The coordination of all the muscles in your feet and toes
is essential to keep you walking upright, to allow you to
dance or to dribble a soccer ball.
We won't get into all those muscles here, but we will
cover the general function of the muscles that move the
foot. So, let's start with an exercise. Put your right leg
out in front of you so your foot isn't touching the floor.
Now, pull the toes of your right foot toward the front of
your body. This movement is called dorsal flexion. Now,
point your foot and toes back, as far you can towards
the floor. This movement is called plantar flexion.
Most of the muscles that move your ankle and foot are
extensors and produce plantar flexion. I know, the
terms sound confusing, I mean, 'an extensor produces
flexion?' But, if you think about the movement itself and
not the name, you will see you are actually extending
your foot and ankle away from your body.
These muscles are also involved in other movements of
your foot called eversion and inversion. So, let's go back
to our exercise. Are your feet out in front of you? Now,
twist your right foot so that the underside is facing the
left foot. This action is called foot inversion. So,
inversion turns your foot inward. Now, rotate your foot
in the other direction, like you are trying to face the
bottom of your foot outward towards your right side.
This movement is called foot eversion and is the
opposite movement of foot inversion. These movement
help you make adjustments in your posture so that you
don't fall over.
Muscles of the Foot
These movements are performed by the same sets of
muscles that allow dorsal and plantar flexion. Most of
these muscles originate on the shaft of the tibia or
fibula of the lower leg, those bones below. They travel
down to your leg and insert into the tendons or bones
in your ankle and foot.
The most well-known and strongest of these tendons is
commonly called the Achilles tendon – for the Greek
hero Achilles - but its actual name is the calcaneal
tendon. This tendon is the insertion point for two of the
largest muscles of the calf. The first is the
gastrocnemius muscle. This muscle is important in
plantar flexion, allowing you to lift your heel when
walking, running and jumping. Underneath it lies the
soleus muscle, which, in addition to plantar flexion,
continually adjusts your posture when standing and
moving.
These two are helped out by other, smaller muscles,
called deep extensors, which are located underneath
and to the side of the soleus and gastrocnemius
muscles. On the front of your lower leg is another large
muscle called the tibialis anterior (anterior because of
its location at the front). This is the opposite of the
gastrocnemius muscle and, therefore, is the main
muscle responsible for dorsal flexion of the foot.
Muscles That Move the Toes
Underneath the soleus muscle, you also have muscles
that are responsible for the movement of the toes. I
know, toe muscles in the leg? But, just like in your
hands (where the muscles that control your fingers are
actually located in your arm), some of the muscles that
control your toes are located in the leg! These muscles
are closer to the surface of the tibia and fibula than the
larger calf muscles.
They include the digital flexors, which, as the name
suggests, cause flexion at the toes, while the digital
extensors extend the toes (also referred to in science as
'digits,' and no, not the type you ask a girl for when you
want her number). The muscle part actually ends
around the ankle, where it transitions into a long
tendon. The tendons of the extensors extend across the
top part of your foot and down to the toes, while the
tendons of the flexors cross around the sides of your
ankle and extend along the bottom of the foot.
Structural Muscles of the Foot
They are also aided by muscles within the foot itself.
The intrinsic muscles of the foot are involved in flexion,
extension and movement of the toes toward and away
from the body.

In addition to aiding in toe movement, the intrinsic

muscles are important for supporting all the bones and
tendons and the overall structure of the foot. They are
especially important in supporting and maintaining the
arch of your foot.

Most of the intrinsic muscles have origins on the tarsal

and metatarsal bones of the foot. Their insertion points
vary, with some inserting onto the bones of the toes,
while others insert onto tendons of the digital flexors
and extensors.

Lesson Summary

And that's it, the major muscles of the lower leg and
foot. But, let's not forget about the knee; the popliteus
muscle allows you to unlock your knee when you flex
your leg. Underneath that are the muscles that control
your foot; most of these are located at the back of your
leg - the calf muscles. These are extensor muscles
involved in plantar flexion, eversion and inversion of
the foot.

The largest extensor muscles of the calf are the

gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. The opposing
muscle, the one that controls dorsal flexion of the foot,
is called the tibialis anterior and is located below, at the
front of the leg.

Moving down towards the ankle - well, right above the

ankle - we have the digital extensors and flexors,
muscles that control the extension and flexion of the
toes. These muscles are connected to tendons that
extend along the top and bottom of your foot, down to
your toes.

Within the foot you have the intrinsic muscles of the

foot. These muscles have multiple roles. Some aid in the
extension and flexion of the toes, while others support
the structure and arch of the foot, and some even do
both! All in all, the feet are very complex appendages,
and even though they aren't as versatile as your hand,
they are just as important - especially for getting around
easily, playing sports and keeping your balance!