Gluteus medius at a glance
- What it is
- A fan-shaped muscle under gluteus maximus on the outer ilium.
- Location
- Origin: external ilium between the anterior and posterior gluteal lines. Insertion: lateral surface of the greater trochanter.
- Function
- Abducts the thigh and, with gluteus minimus, holds the pelvis level during walking.
- Body system
- Muscular · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA22330 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Innervation: superior gluteal nerve (L4–S1)
- Blood supply: superior gluteal artery
Clinical relevance
Weakness causes a Trendelenburg gait (pelvis drops on the unsupported side).
Structures next to the gluteus medius
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Gluteus minimus · muscular
- Hip bone · skeletal
- Iliacus · muscular
- Piriformis · muscular
- Gemellus superior · muscular
- Appendix · digestive
- Psoas major · muscular
- Superior gluteal vein · cardiovascular
- Tensor fasciae latae · muscular
- Mesoappendix · digestive
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Gluteus medius (FMA22330). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
- 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.