Skeletal muscles are connected to your bones by tendons, and they enable you to move and maintain an upright posture. Some muscles, like the ones that help you smile or flex your fingers, are only a few inches long, while others, like those in your thighs, are large and bulky.
But have you ever wondered about that? muscle Which is the largest and which is the smallest?
The answers depend on whether muscle is measured by mass or surface area.
The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the body by mass. Dr.. Siri DaviesThe former president of the UK Anatomical Society told Live Science via email. Months from Gluteal musclesThe gluteus maximus extends diagonally from the top center of the pelvis to the femur, or thigh bone. It represents about 12% to 13% of the total weight of all leg muscles, according to A Study of adult cadavers.
“The gluteus maximus extends the thigh at the hip joint,” Davis said. “We use it when getting out of a chair, walking up stairs, or going up hills. It has to be strong to move the entire weight of the upper body.”
Related: Why is it more difficult for some people to build muscle than others?
Of course, training for sports that require a lot of strength — Like running – It can increase the size of the gluteus maximus. One small study It was found that the absolute volume of the gluteus maximus muscles in the elite runners was approximately 45% greater than that in the elite runners.
Interestingly, the human gluteus maximus muscle is also Larger than monkeys and apes, at least for total body size. Some scientists suggest that its large size may be an evolutionary adaptation to some organisms The demands imposed by being bipedalIt means standing on two legs. For example, the gluteus maximus is critical to humans’ ability to climb stairs and run upright.
The latissimus dorsi muscle, commonly called the lats, is the largest muscle in the human body by surface area, Davis said.
There are two triangular-shaped latissimus dorsi—one on each side of the spine. This broad, flat muscle lies above other muscles in the middle and lower back. According to a study conducted in 2022 in International Journal of MorphologyThe average adult dorsiflexion is about 7 inches (18 cm) wide and 14 inches (36 cm) long. However, it’s just that It is half an inch (1.3 cm) thick..
On the other side of the muscle size spectrum is the stapedius muscle, which is a small muscle inside the muscle permission. measurement It is about 0.2 inch (5 mm) long.It is the smallest skeletal muscle in the human body.
“The stapes relates to the stapes, which is one of the small bones in the middle ear that carries sound vibrations from the eardrum to the auditory nerve,” Davis said. “deflation [the] The stapes dampens the movement of the stapes, preventing nerve damage caused by loud noise.”
In other words, the small muscle stabilizes the stirrup to prevent it from shaking violently. A muscle contracts involuntarily in response to sounds of a certain level, but if it only responds to very loud sounds or does not contract at all, it It could be a sign of hearing loss. Although the stapes are weak, they perform an important function.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.
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