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Extensor hallucis longus: anatomy, location and function

A long extensor of the great toe, lying between tibialis anterior and extensor digitorum longus. Extends the great toe and dorsiflexes the ankle.

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Highlighted in the model: Extensor hallucis longus. 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.

Extensor hallucis longus at a glance

What it is
A long extensor of the great toe, lying between tibialis anterior and extensor digitorum longus.
Location
Origin: middle anterior surface of the fibula and interosseous membrane. Insertion: dorsal base of the distal phalanx of the great toe.
Function
Extends the great toe and dorsiflexes the ankle.
Body system
Muscular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA22546 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Innervation: deep fibular nerve (L5–S1)
  • Blood supply: anterior tibial artery

Structures next to the extensor hallucis longus

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

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Extensor hallucis longus (FMA22546). 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.