Biceps Femoris

This section is about the
Muscles of the Legs and Feet

The biceps femoris muscles are a pair of muscles located in each of the posterior upper-legs of the human body.

The word 'biceps' refers to a muscle that has two heads, that is two points of origin- see the table below.

The three hamstring muscles are the:

Origin, Insertion and Actions of the Biceps Femoris muscle:

Points of Origin:	Long Head: ischial tuberosity Short Head: upper femur bone
Points of Insertion:	Lateral condyle on the tibia bone Lateral head of the fibula bone
Actions:	Flexes the knee Outwardly rotates it when flexed Extends the hip.

To test your knowledge, look at the image opposite and decide which muscle(s) you think are the biceps femoris muscles, then click on the image to check if you were correct. The image links to another page that includes the labels for this and all the other muscles shown.

More about Muscles:

The following are some popular pages in the section about the human muscular system:

The structure of muscle tissue
The structure of muscle cells
Labelled diagrams of the muscles in different parts of the body including anterior muscles, posterior muscles and facial muscles
Types of muscle contractions
Movements at joints

There are also more pages about the words used to describe muscles (terminology), the anatomy and physiology of muscles, muscular disorders and associated topics. See also books about sports medicine.

This may be useful study or revision material for students following courses in Human Anatomy, Sports Science, Massage, Reflexology or other subjects that require knowledge of the muscular structures of the arms, legs, hands and feet.

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Biceps Femoris

Origin, Insertion and Actions of the Biceps Femoris muscle:

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