296 PROF. OWEN ON THE ANATOMY 



length, from the pruximal end of the tibia : this tendon moreover receives the long slender 

 tendon sent oft" obliquely across the front of the knee-joint from the pectineus (t), by which 

 its origin is extended to the pelvis. This accessory tendon perforates the inner fleshy 

 surface of the muscle, and is finally lost about half-way down the carneous part. Before 

 the flexor perforatus is joined by the tendon of the pectineus, it subdivides posteriorly 

 into four muscular fasciculi. The anterior division receives principally the above tendon, 

 and this division of the muscle becomes wholly tendinous two-thirds down the leg ; its 

 tendon (3) passes through the posterior part of the pulley of the gastrocnemius, and ex- 

 pands as it passes along the metatarsus : a thick ligamentous substance is developed in 

 it opposite the joint of the proximal phalanx of the second toe, into the sides of which 

 it is inserted, dividing for that purpose, and giving passage to the two other flexor ten- 

 dons of that toe. The second portion of the present muscle terminates in a tendon (4) 

 situated behind the preceding, which passes through a distinct sheath behind the tarsal 

 joint, expands into a sesamoid fibro-cartilage beneath the corresponding expansion of 

 the previous tendon, which it perforates, and then becomes itself the perforated tendon 

 of the second phalanx of the second toe, in the sides of which it is inserted. The third 

 portion of this muscle ends in a somewhat smaller tendon (.5) than the preceding, which 

 forms the second perforatus flexor of the third or middle toe. The fourth and most pos- 

 terior portion soon becomes a distinct muscle ; its fleshy fibres cease on the inner side, 

 one-fourth down the leg, but on the outside they are continued three-fourths down the 

 leg ; its tendon (G) passes through the gastrocnemial pulley behind the ankle-joint, and 

 divides to form a sheath for the flexor perforatus of the fourth toe ; it is then joined by the 

 tendon of the peroneus (7), which passes through a pulley across the external malleolus, 

 and finally becomes the perforated tendon of the first phalanx of the middle or third toe. 



Pectineus (PI. XXXII. XXXV. t), {Rectus anticus femoris of Cuvier' and MeckeF).— 

 This is a long, thin, narrow strip of muscle arising from the spine of the pubis, anterior 

 to the acetabulum, and passing straight down the inner side of the thigh ; it degenerates 

 into a small round tendon near the knee, which tendon traverses a pulley, formed by an 

 oblique perforation in the strong rotular tendon of the extensors of the leg, and thus 

 passing across the knee-joint to the outer side of the leg, finally expands, and is lost in 

 the flexor perforatus digitorum last described. It is this muscle which causes the toes 

 to be bent when the knee is bent. 



Peroneus longus (PI. XXXII. XXXV. 7). — Origin,. Tendinous from the head of the 

 tibia, and by carneous fibres from the upper half of the anterior margin of the tibia ; 

 these fibres pass obliquely to a marginal tendon, which becomes stronger and of a rounded 

 form where it leaves the muscle. The tendon gives off" a broad, thin, aponeurotic sheath 

 to be inserted into the capsule of the tarsal joint ; it is then continued through a synovial 

 pulley on the side of the outer malleolus, and is finally inserted or continued into the 

 perforated tendon of the middle toe (6) . 



' Lecons d'Anat. Comp. ed. 1836, p. 523. ' Vergleich. Anat., Th. iii. p. 365. 



