THE MUSCLES OF THE LOWER EXTREMITY. 169 



narrow pelvis anteriorly, wliile it demands tlie use of a 

 powerful set of gluteal muscles. 



" The gluteus medius arises by a strong, flat tendon 

 from the superior surface of the outer moiety of the 

 anterior iliac margin, by a dense fascia from the entire 

 line bounding the pre-acetabular concavity, and finally by 

 fleshy fibres from the upper side of the ilium itself. 

 The fibres of the roundish muscle thus formed converge 

 as they pass to the caput femoris, and, just before ar- 

 riving at the bone, they terminate in a dense flat ten- 

 don, which, passing over a bursa, is inserted at a point 

 on the antero- external asj)ect of the femoral trochanter. 



" The gluteus minimus (Fig, 63 his) is a very much 

 smaller muscle than the gluteus medius, and is found 

 immediately beneath it to its outer side. In form it is 

 oblong, and fully three times as long as wide. It arises 

 from the outer superior surface of the fore-part of the 

 ilium, and passing obliquely downwards and backwards 

 as a flat narrow band of fibres, it becomes inserted by 

 semitendinous ones on the outer asj^ect of the upper 

 third of the femur, just below the trochanter. This 

 muscle may also ride over a small bursa, just before it 

 arrives at its insertion" (the present writer in Proc. 

 Zool. Soc. of London, 1886; see 120 of Bibliography 

 at end of this volume). 



97. Tlie extensor femoris^ constitutes the great 

 extensor of the leg upon the thigh. 



1 Bearing upon the nomenclatural history of the extensor femoris 

 and vasti muscles we have the following from Gadow's work in 

 Bronn's Klassen des Thier-Reichs (vi. Bd. pp. 154, 1-55) : — 



" 35. M. FEMOKI-TIBIALIS. 



" Der I. und II. Theil. 

 M. secundus tihiam movens. Aldrovandi. 

 M. sedecimiis femoris. Steno. 



