Gluteus Maximus
Function
The gluteus maximus muscle does the following:
- Laterally rotates the upper leg.This means that the gluteus maximus muscle rotates the upper leg outward around the axis of the bone (i.e. it rotates the upper leg away from the vertical midline of the body).
- Extends the leg at the hip.This means that the gluteus maximus muscle straightens the hip joint such that there is an increase in the angle between the upper leg and the torso.
Common Name(s)
"glutes," "butt" - along with gluteus medius.
The muscular anatomy image shown here is in the public domain. It may have been modified by ShapeSense.com, but was originally acquired at the following address:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gluteus_maximus_muscle.PNG
