What are the hamstrings called?

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The back thigh muscles is called the hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus). Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as a group of three muscles on the back of the thigh.

Summary

The back thigh muscles is called the hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus). Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as a group of three muscles on the back of the thigh.

What it is

  • A group of three muscles on the back of the thigh.
  • Bend the knee and extend the hip.
  • Their tendons form the cords you can feel behind the knee.

Where it is

  • On the back of the thigh, between the buttock and the knee.
  • Arise mainly from the ischial tuberosity of the hip bone.
  • Insert on the tibia and fibula below the knee.

Sources

According to Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (1918, public domain):

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