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Anconeus: anatomy, location and function

A small triangular muscle on the posterior elbow. Assists triceps in extending the forearm, stabilizes the elbow and abducts the ulna during pronation.

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Highlighted in the model: Anconeus. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Anconeus at a glance

What it is
A small triangular muscle on the posterior elbow.
Location
Origin: lateral epicondyle of the humerus. Insertion: lateral surface of the olecranon and upper posterior ulna.
Function
Assists triceps in extending the forearm, stabilizes the elbow and abducts the ulna during pronation.
Body system
Muscular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA37705 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Innervation: radial nerve, via the branch to the medial head of triceps (usually given as C7–C8)
  • Blood supply: recurrent interosseous artery and middle collateral artery
  • Its fibres are continuous with the medial head of triceps, and some authors treat it as part of triceps.

Structures next to the anconeus

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Anconeus (FMA37705). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.