Vastus medialis at a glance
- What it is
- The medial quadriceps muscle with oblique fibers near the patella.
- Location
- Originates from the intertrochanteric line, spiral line and medial lip of the linea aspera, and inserts into the quadriceps tendon and medial border of the patella.
- Function
- Extends the leg at the knee, with its oblique fibers stabilizing the patella.
- Body system
- Muscular · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA38932 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Innervation: femoral nerve (L2–L4)
- Blood supply: femoral and deep femoral arteries
Clinical relevance
Weakness can contribute to patellar maltracking.
Structures next to the vastus medialis
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Gracilis · muscular
- Vastus intermedius · muscular
- Sartorius · muscular
- Adductor magnus · muscular
- Semimembranosus · muscular
- Vastus lateralis · muscular
- Descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery · cardiovascular
- Semitendinosus · muscular
- Rectus femoris · muscular
- Femur · skeletal
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Vastus medialis (FMA38932). 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.