Flexor carpi ulnaris
From Ganfyd
| Flexor carpi ulnaris | |
|---|---|
 | |
| System: | Muscle |
| Function: | Flexes and adducts hand, fixes pisiform |
| Origin: | Humeral head - common flexor origin Ulnar head - aponeurosis from medial olecranon and upper three quarters of the posterior border of the ulna |
| Branches: | |
| Insertion: | Pisiform, hook of hamate and base of little metacarpal |
| Arterial supply: | |
| Venous drainage: | |
| Lymphatic drainage: | |
| Innervation: | Ulnar nerve (C6, C7) |
| Vertebral levels: | |
| Search for Flexor carpi ulnaris in Gray's. | |
Flexor carpi ulnaris is a flexor and adductor of the hand. It contains the pisiform within its distal tendon.
Contents |
Shape
Flexor carpi ulnaris arises from two heads - humeral and ulnar. The two heads are connected by a tendinous arch, beneath which pass the ulnar nerve and posterior ulnar recurrent artery. The fibres of the two heads join in a tendon about halfway down the muscle's length, which then lies medial to the ulnar artery and ulnar nerve. The tendon inserts into the palmar surface of pisiform and then continues distally as the so-called pisohamate and pisometacarpal ligaments (both of which are continuations of the tendon rather than distinct ligaments) to the hamate and little metacarpal. A few fibres connect the tendon to the transverse carpal ligament.
Humeral head
The humeral head of flexor carpi ulnaris arises as part of the common flexor origin from the medial epicondyle of the humerus.
Ulnar head
The ulnar head of flexor carpi ulnaris from an aponeurosis from the medial olecranon and upper two thirds of the posterior border of the ulna (in common with extensor carpi ulnaris and flexor digitorum profundus).
Actions
- Flexion of the hand
- Adduction of the hand
- Stabilises pisiform, particularly during action of the hypothenar muscles
Joints Affected
Origin
Humeral head:
Ulnar head:
- Aponeurosis from the medial olecranon and proximal two thirds of the posterior border of the ulna
Insertion
- Palmar surface of pisiform
- Hook of hamate
- Base of the little metacarpal
Nerve Supply
- Ulnar nerve (C6, C7)
Variations
- May have slips of origin from the coronoid of the ulna
