Monday 7 December 2015

Extensor Hallucis Longus - anterior compartment of lower leg

Extensor Hallucis Longus lives on the front (anterior) part of the lower leg, crossing the ankle and extending all the way to the end of the big toe.





Extensor: extends
Hallucis: referring to the big toe (aka 'toe #1')
Longus: there is most likely a shorter version of this muscle (aka 'brevis')

Extensor Hallucis Longus Muscle Attachments:

Origin:  middle 1/3 of the anterior fibula and the middle 1/3 of the interosseous membrane

Insertion:  distal phalanx of the big toe 
(aka to the tip of the last bone)



Extensor Hallucis Longus Muscle Actions:

a) dorsiflexion of the foot at the ankle joint
b) extension of the big toe 

a) dorsiflexion of the foot at the ankle joint
aka toes pointing up to the sky (& heel down towards ground)



b) big toe extension

its pretty much impossible for me to isolate just the big toe doing extension (without the other toes tagging along - a bit grainy - but can you see the tendon of extensor hallucis longus popping out?)