A New Muscle: The tensor vastus intermedius

/
The Legendary Bigfoot
Image Credit: Athikhun.suw - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Image Credit: Athikhun.suw - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Tensor Vastus Intermedius
Introducing a new muscle almost as elusive as the legendary Bigfoot. In 2014 it was the anterolateral ligament this year it is the tensor vastus intermedius I wonder what will come next!

This is a Newly Discovered Muscle
A research paper release in the Journal Clinical Anatomy details a newly described muscle as part of the quadriceps. This muscle lies  between the vastus lateralis and the vastus intermedius, and is named the tensor vastus intermedius.  

Found on All 26 Bodies
Researchers were able to identify this muscles on all 26 of the cadavers in the study; it was also determined that the tensor vastus intermedius is supplied by independent muscular and vascular branches of the femoral nerve and lateral circumflex femoral artery. 

What are the Implications?
As an anatomy nerd this new scientific discovery caught my eye. Even though the implications for therapists will likely be minimal due to the relative size of the muscle. This new discovery serves as a reminder that our knowledge of the human form and function is constantly evolving.

Link To The Full Research Paper

Grob, K., Ackland, T., Kuster, M., Manestar, M., & Filgueira, L. (2016). A newly discovered muscle: The tensor of the vastus intermedius. Clin. Anat. Clinical Anatomy, 29(2), 256-263.

The RMT Education Project: Resources for Massage Therapists

The RMT Education Project attempts to simplify the complex- breaking down information dense research into manageable chunks. If you are looking for a somewhere to start, check out the ‘Curated Content’ page or browse through ‘The Research Countdown Series’.