<span style="font-weight: 400;">If anything confirms that we cannot know it all about the human body it’s the cadaver labs….</span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">And every now again something blows my mind. We are always taught certain things to be true…. E.g, having 4 ‘quad’riceps...hence the naming of them!</span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Until you see examples where there are 5 or even 6….. YES 6!</span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Now the human body is a fantastic thing &amp;, if you are anything like me, you are in awe of its complexities but we can have this desire to explore it further &amp; make sense of it to help us understand movement better. </span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">When we study the body in this way I feel we also should bring ourselves back to the simplicity of kinesiology in application </span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Having discovered &amp; read around these 5th &amp; 6th quads I wanted to try to share my interpretation with you....in a nutshell.... what do these extra ‘quads’, actually ‘sextuceps’.....sexdriceps?....maybe?if we renamed them... contribute to movement, if anything?</span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Well after reading a little.. the hypothesis, as I understand it, goes……</span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">First let’s define the language….</span>

&nbsp;
<h2><b>Definitions for each word used;</b></h2>
&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Tensor - Stretch </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Fascia - Band</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Lata- Side </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Vastus - Great </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Intermedius - Between 2 Structures</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Articularis - Rigid / Stiff</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Genus - Knee </span>

&nbsp;
<h2><b>The Additional Quads.</b></h2>
&nbsp;

<em><strong>Tensa Vastus Intermedius</strong></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> - tenses on the aponeurosis (fascia kinda stuff) of Vastus intermedius &amp; medialises (turns inwards) the action of the muscle.</span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">This muscle is also thought to act as a second <em>tensa</em> in addition to TFL......which I interpret as meaning it assists TFL. Maybe somehow it is ‘tensing’ in a similar area rather than actually contracting agonistically...what do you think? Go on….check it out….</span>

&nbsp;

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-24267" src="https://biomechanicseducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TENSA-VASTUS-INTERMEDIUS.png" alt="" width="409" height="393" />

<strong><em>Articularis Genus</em></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> - Isn’t thought to act as an individual muscle but, along with its Vastus siblings, it's considered to be a retractor of the suprapatella bursa. Which means it pulls the bursa up during knee extension to prevent impingement of the membrane between patella &amp; femur . </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">However there are studies of its design or architecture, that suggest it to not be capable!? &#x1f648;</span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Thought of generally as this coordinator of the suprapatella bursa during flexion/extension &amp; also for proprioceptive function </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">But it’s true function is not definitive in the evidence.</span>

&nbsp;

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-24266" src="https://biomechanicseducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ARTICULARIS-GENUS.png" alt="" width="417" height="413" />

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Ok I can hear you thinking the infamous ‘So What?’ Question</span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">What difference do you think it might make if an individual has a 5th and/or 6th quad?</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Could it be an advantage or even a disadvantage? </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Would it affect movement at all? </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">If so how?</span>

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">My point here is that I certainly do not have all of the answers to these questions &amp; you are not necessarily expected to find them either </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">BUT</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on it!? </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">So why not come &amp; join me in my classroom for an inclusive anatomy dialectic conversation? </span>

&nbsp;
<h2>References;</h2>
<i>Articularis genus muscle - e-anatomy</i> (no date) <i>IMAIOS</i>. Available at: https://www.imaios.com/en/e-anatomy/anatomical-structure/articularis-genus-muscle-1541090824 (Accessed: 10 June 2024).
<div></div>
Grob, K. <i>et al.</i> (2016) ‘A newly discovered muscle: The tensor of the vastus intermedius’, <i>Clinical Anatomy</i>, 29(2), pp. 256–263. doi:10.1002/ca.22680.
<div></div>
Marques, N. (2020) <i>Tensor vastus intermedius: A new muscle discovered</i>, <i>MOJ Anatomy &amp; Physiology</i>. Available at: https://medcraveonline.com/MOJAP/tensor-vastus-intermedius-a-new-muscle-discovered.html (Accessed: 10 June 2024).
<div></div>
Saito, A. <i>et al.</i> (2015) ‘Functional status of the articularis genus muscle in individuals with knee osteoarthritis’, <i>Physiotherapy</i>, 101. doi:10.1016/j.physio.2015.03.1238.
<div></div>
Veeramani, R. and Gnanasekaran, D. (2017) ‘Morphometric study of tensor of vastus intermedius in South Indian population’, <i>Anatomy &amp;amp; Cell Biology</i>, 50(1), p. 7. doi:10.5115/acb.2017.50.1.7.

&nbsp;
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