Gluteus medius is located on the lateral aspect of the upper buttock, below the iliac crest. The superior muscle is broad with the muscle narrowing towards its insertional tendon giving it a fan-shape.
Gluteus maximus covers all of the gluteal muscles except for the antero-superior third of the Gluteus medius. This uncovered part of Gluteus medius is the safe area at which we should apply buttocks dorso gluteal intramuscular injections .
Origin
Gluteal, or lateral surface of the ilium between the posterior and anterior gluteal lines and gluteal aponorosis . This is a large area, reaching from the iliac crest above to the almost the sciatic notch below.
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| Gluteus medius |
Insertion
Glutes medius is divided into three portions similar to deltoid muscle of the shoulder joint :
Fibers of the posterior portion pass forwards and downwards.
Fibers of the middle portion pass downwards.
Fibers of the anterior portion pass backwards and downward. All Fibers combine to form a flattened tendon which attaches to the posterior and lateral part of the superior portion of the greater trochanter of the femur.
Nerve Supply
The gluteus medius is supplied by the superior gluteal nerve (root L4,L5 and S1). Cutaneous supply is mainly provided by L1 and 2.
Function
Gluteus medius is the prime mover of abduction at hip joint.
Anterior portion of Gluteus medius abduct, assist in flexion and medial rotation of hip.
Posterior portion of Gluteus medius abduct, assist in ext and lateral rotation of hip.
In hip flexion all portions internally rotate the hip and it has shown that at 90` of hip flexion the leverage of medial rotation of Gluteus medius is increased eight folds.
All portions of Gluteus medius will produce hip abduction regrades the position o the hip.
Glutes medius is an extremely important muscle in maintaining frontal plane stability of the pelvis it forms with the ipsilateral tensor fascia latae and contralateral quadratus lumborum a lateral fascial sling whose main role is to provide frontal plane stability.
Gluteus medius is an important muscle in walking, running and single-leg weight-bearing because it prevents the opposite side of the pelvis from dropping during walking, running and single leg weight-bearing.
When a limb is taken off the ground the pelvis on the that side will tend to drop through loss of support from below. Gluteus medius works to maintain the side of the pelvis that drops therefore allowing the other limb to swing forward for the next step.
Gluteus medius also supports the pelvis during gait by producing rotation of hip with assistance from gluteus minimus and tensor fascia lata. Conversely, the hip is supported during the stance phase by acting on the same side.
Anatomy Overvie
