Anat Cell Biol.  2024 Mar;57(1):143-146. 10.5115/acb.23.254.

A biceps-bicaudatus sartorius muscle: dissection of a variant with possible clinical implications

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Anatomy and Surgical Anatomy, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
  • 2Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
  • 3Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, 251 Hellenic Air Force General Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece

Abstract

The current cadaveric report describes an unusual morphology of the sartorius muscle (SM), the biceps-bicaudatus variant. The SM had two (lateral and medial) heads, with distinct tendinous origins from the anterior superior iliac spine. The lateral head was further split into a lateral and a medial bundle. The anterior cutaneous branch of the femoral nerve emerged between the origins of the lateral and medial heads. SM morphological variants are exceedingly uncommon, with only a few documented cases in the literature, and several terms used for their description. Although their rare occurrence, they may play an important role in the differential diagnosis of entrapment syndromes, in cases of neural compressions, such as meralgia paresthetica, while careful dissection during the superficial inter-nervous plane of the direct anterior hip approach is of utmost importance, to avoid adverse effects due to the altered SM morphology.

Keyword

Sartorius muscle; Variation; Anatomy; Entrapment; Neuropathy

Figure

  • Fig. 1 (A–C) Dissection of the sartorius muscle (SM) variant and related nerves. (A) The SM division into LH and MH, and the LH division (arrow) into LB and MB. (B) The FNacb emersion (superior arrow) and the inferior black arrow depict the fusion of the MB with the MH. (C) SN-sural nerve with the GSV-great saphenous vein. Two arrows depict the superior and inferior attachments of the muscle’s components at pes anserinus. FNacb, femoral nerve anterior cutaneous branch; MH, medial head; LH, lateral head; LB, lateral bundle; MB, medial bundle; SN, saphenous nerve; GSV, great saphenous vein.

  • Fig. 2 Panoramic schematic view of the sartorius muscle (SM) variant. The biceps and bicaudatus SM (SMbcp and SMbcd). SM division into LH and MH, and the LH division into LB and MB. The complex MB-MH insertion into the pens anserinus (PA) inferior area. The insertion of the LB into the PA, superior area. ASIS, anterior superior iliac spine; IL, inguinal ligament; MH, medial head; LH, lateral head; MB, medial bundle; LB, lateral bundle; FNacb, the femoral nerve anterior cutaneous branch; P, patella; FN, femoral nerve.


Reference

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