A bilateral third head of the gastrocnemius which is morphologically similar to the plantaris

Ishii, Takaya; Kawagishi, Kyutaro; Hayashi, Shogo; Yamada, Shinnosuke; Yoshioka, Hirotaka; Matsuno, Yoshiharu; Mori, Yuichiro; Kosaka, Jun

doi:10.1007/s00276-020-02670-w

Cited by 6 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There are multiple case reports of the presence of a TH of gastrocnemius. However, to our knowledge, the occurrence of bilateral TH's has only been reported once before [ 2 ]. Our goal is to discuss this rare anatomical variant and propose the clinical manifestations as a result of this anomaly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bilateral Gastrocnemius Tertius Muscles: Cadaveric Findings of a Rare Variant

Arefi,

Kosco,

Werner

et al. 2023

Cureus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The posterior compartment of the leg typically contains three muscles in the superficial flexor group: the gastrocnemius, plantaris, and soleus. The gastrocnemius has medial and lateral heads (MH and LH) that originate from the medial and lateral condyles of the femur, respectively. However, a third head (TH) of the gastrocnemius, is a rare accessory muscle bundle of the gastrocnemius muscle that covers the surface of the popliteal fossa. Bilateral THs of gastrocnemius were identified in a 67-year-old male during a routine educational cadaveric dissection. Both gastrocnemius TH muscles consisted of a superficial belly with distinct neurovasculature heads and originated from the lateral condyle of the femur and inserted into the Achilles tendon. To our knowledge, the co-existence of bilateral gastrocnemius TH muscles has only been reported once. The male donor was found to exhibit an anatomical anomaly and could be clinically underdiagnosed due to its clinically silent nature and the lack of reports. Insight into the potential implications of bilateral and unilateral gastrocnemius TH and identification during clinical evaluation offers a path for future research to better identify and manage cases of gastrocnemius TH and its effects.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bilateral Gastrocnemius Tertius Muscles: Cadaveric Findings of a Rare Variant

Arefi,

Kosco,

Werner

et al. 2023

Cureus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While many anomalous and accessory muscles and tendons of the leg and ankle have been reported (1,2,4), to our knowledge, this is potentially the first description of an accessory lateral gastrocnemius tendon in the literature. Accessory gastrocnemius muscles have been noted in the literature; however, these are typically described as a distinct proximal muscle belly with a common tendinous contribution to the Achilles tendon distally (8,9,11,17). Most commonly described is a third head of the gastrocnemius (8), although fourth heads also have been described (18).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A third head of the gastrocnemius muscle, or gastrocnemius tertius, also has been defined on imaging and anatomic dissection, typically merging with the more proximal muscle bellies, and not described as a distinct distal tendinous structure or insertion (8,9). Similarly, an accessory plantaris muscle has been described, typically merging with the plantaris tendon or medial aspect of the gastrocnemius tendon distally (10,11). At the level of the tendinous insertion of the triceps surae complex on the calcaneal tuberosity, variability can exist with respect to the individual insertion of the Achilles tendon fascicles or subtendons on the calcaneus with a typical axial plane rotation noted (12)(13)(14).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accessory Lateral Gastrocnemius Tendon: A Case Report

Kruse

Duchman

2022

Curr Sports Med Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Yildirim et al [8] identified the coexistence of a bilateral GT with an accessory SM, similar to the coexistence of the GT with a unilateral two-headed PM, in the present case. Hence, the GT occurrence is considered relatively uncommon (2-5.5%), while its bilateral presence is considered even rarer and has been reported in only four published cases [5][6][7][8]. Except for the three-headed GM, there are extremely rare cases of quadriceps GM, as Koplas et al [5] identified in a unique case of their sample (<0.01%).…”

Section: Gastrocnemius Muscle Morphological Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Only a unique case of a bilateral appearance of a GT was identified [5]. The bilateral GT has been reported in the [7] reported a quite smaller Gand hypoplastic GT (morphologically similar to the PM). Yildirim et al [8] identified the coexistence of a bilateral GT with an accessory SM, similar to the coexistence of the GT with a unilateral two-headed PM, in the present case.…”

Section: Gastrocnemius Muscle Morphological Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 98%

A bilateral gastrocnemius tertius coexisting with a unilateral two-headed plantaris muscle

Tsakotos,

Triantafyllou,

Koutserimpas

et al. 2024

Anat Cell Biol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The current cadaveric report aims to present a coexistence of two uncommon variants of the posterior leg compartment. The variations were detected, during classical dissection in an 84-year-old donated male cadaver. On the left lower limb, the gastrocnemius muscle was identified as having a third head that was attached to the lateral head. This variant is known as gastrocnemius tertius muscle and was bilaterally identified. The left-sided plantaris muscle had two distinct heads that fused into a common tendon that was inserted into the calcaneal tuberosity. Knowledge of these variants is important, due to their close relationship with the popliteal neurovascular bundle. Clinicians should be aware, to avoid pitfalls and take them into account in their differential diagnosis.

show abstract

A bilateral third head of the gastrocnemius which is morphologically similar to the plantaris

Cited by 6 publications

References 11 publications

Bilateral Gastrocnemius Tertius Muscles: Cadaveric Findings of a Rare Variant

Bilateral Gastrocnemius Tertius Muscles: Cadaveric Findings of a Rare Variant

Accessory Lateral Gastrocnemius Tendon: A Case Report

A bilateral gastrocnemius tertius coexisting with a unilateral two-headed plantaris muscle

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About