BMS107 Guide to Upper Limb Movements

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	anterior to	posterior to	medial to	lateral to
shoulder	flexes arm	extends arm	adducts arm	abducts arm
elbow	flexes forearm	extends forearm	-	-
wrist	flexes wrist/digits	extends wrist/digits	adducts hand ("ulnaris" muscles)	abducts hand ("radialis" muscles)

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Following are some generalizations about the muscles of the forearm.
Not all forearm muscles comply with the stated generalizations.

	FLEXORS	EXTENSORS
location	anterior (ventral) forearm	posterior (dorsal) forearm
origin	on or near medial epicondyle of humerus	on or near lateral epicondyle of humerus
remarks	includes pronator teres	includes supinator

"You Can Tell A Lot From A Name"
Many of the muscles of the forearm have names that include three words. Generally...

1. The first word tells you the action of the muscle (flexor, extensor, etc.).
2. The second word tells you what the muscle flexes or extends.
   • "__________carpi__________" muscles generally insert on metacarpals and flex or extend the carpus (wrist).
   • "__________digitorum__________" muscles generally insert on phalanges and flex or extend the digits.
3. The third word (ulnaris or radialis) tells you whether the muscle is located on the medial (ulnar) side of the forearm or the lateral (radial) side of the forearm. Additionally,
   • the "ulnaris" muscles include adduction of the hand among their functions
   • the "radialis" muscles include abduction of the hand among their functions

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Upper Appendicular Muscles Lists: Regular Version | Self-Quiz Version

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April 2008