Soleus at a glance
- What it is
- A broad flat calf muscle lying deep to gastrocnemius.
- Location
- Originates from the head and upper shaft of the fibula, the soleal line and the middle third of the medial tibial border, and inserts onto the calcaneus via the calcaneal tendon.
- Function
- Plantarflexes the ankle and is important for standing posture and walking.
- Body system
- Muscular · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA22558 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Innervation: tibial nerve (S1–S2)
- Blood supply: posterior tibial and fibular arteries
- Acts as a venous pump through the calf
Clinical relevance
Deep vein thrombosis commonly begins in the soleal veins.
Structures next to the soleus
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Plantaris · muscular
- Small saphenous vein · cardiovascular
- Tibia · skeletal
- Interosseous membrane of leg · skeletal
- Fibula · skeletal
- Anterior tibial artery · cardiovascular
- Anterior tibial vein · cardiovascular
- Tibialis posterior · muscular
- Fibularis longus · muscular
- Tibialis anterior · muscular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Soleus (FMA22558). 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.