The Dorsal Forearm: One Last Encore

I wasn't going to include these mini posts on the blog itself, but I kind of like this one, so here we go. We covered the dorsal forearm pretty thoroughly over the summer, but coming across this photo made me think maybe a quick encore was in order. Some of the muscles show pretty clearly here, so I slapped on some quick labels.

In the photo above, we can see the three most commonly visible dorsal forearm muscles, anconeus, extensor carpi ulnaris, and extensor digitorum. We can also see the lateral epicondyle of the humerus (the bony protuberance from which all these muscles originate) and the tendons of the extensor digitorum heading across the back of the hand to their insertion points on fingers II through V.

Compare the original photo to the labeled photo to get an idea of how clearly these structures can show, as well as where they appear and disappear. And don't forget that other variables (such as arm and hand position, age of the individual, and light source) will affect the surface appearance of these structures.

For more detailed description of this area, check out a previous post, The Dorsal Forearm, Part 2: Which Side Are You On, Anyway?

Some leg posts are coming up soon!