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Medial head of triceps brachii: anatomy, location and function

The deep head of triceps, lying beneath the long and lateral heads. Extends the forearm; the main workhorse extensor at the elbow.

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Highlighted in the model: Medial head of triceps brachii. 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.

Medial head of triceps brachii at a glance

What it is
The deep head of triceps, lying beneath the long and lateral heads.
Location
Origin: posterior humerus below the radial groove. Insertion: olecranon of the ulna.
Function
Extends the forearm; the main workhorse extensor at the elbow.
Body system
Muscular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA37695 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Innervation: radial nerve (C6–C8)
  • Blood supply: profunda brachii and superior ulnar collateral arteries
  • Because it arises below the radial groove, it is partly protected when the radial nerve is injured at the mid-shaft of the humerus.

Structures next to the medial head of triceps brachii

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

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Medial head of triceps brachii (FMA37695). 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.