Semimembranosus
Function
The semimembranosus muscle does the following:
- Flexes the leg at the knee.This means that the semimembranosus muscle bends the leg at the knee joint such that there is a decrease in the angle between the lower leg and the upper leg.
- Extends the leg at the hip.This means that the semimembranosus muscle straightens the hip joint such that there is an increase in the angle between the upper leg and the torso.
Common Name(s)
"hamstrings" - the semimembranosus muscle forms part of the hamstrings muscle group, along with biceps femoris and semitendinosus.
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:Semimembranosus_muscle.PNG
