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the plantaris muscle... do you have one?

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the plantaris, a vestigial muscle that runs from the femur (thigh) to the calcaneus (heal), does not exist in approximately ten percent of the humans living today. freshman medical students often mistake this muscle for a nerve due to it's pencil-thin, elongated form. scientists believe the muscle was useful to other primates for grasping with their feet, but is now disappearing because it's motor function today is so minimal. the plantaris acts to weakly plantar flex the ankle joint, to flex the knee joint, and may also provide proprioceptive feedback information to the central nervous system regarding the position of the foot. it's long tendon can readily be harvested for reconstruction elsewhere with little functional deficit. the unusually high density of proprioceptive receptor end organs supports this notion.
























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