IJAR.2018.221
Type of Article: Case Report
Volume 6; Issue 3.1 (July 2018)
Page No.: 5420-5423
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.16965/ijar.2018.221
A CASE REPORT OF A VARIANT HEAD OF GASTROCNEMIUS
Ramandeep Kaur 1, Anshu Sharma *2, Mahesh Kumar Sharma 3.
1 Demonstrator, Department Of Anatomy, Government medical college and hospital, Chandigarh, India.
*2 Associate Professor, Department Of Anatomy, Government medical college and hospital, Chandigarh, India.
3 Professor, Department Of Anatomy, Government medical college and hospital, Chandigarh, India.
Corresponding Author: Dr. Anshu Sharma, Associate Professor, Department Of Anatomy, Government medical college and hospital, sector 32, Chandigarh, India. Mob. 9646121530 E-Mail: anshusharma_01@yahoo.co.in
ABSTRACT:
The Gastrocnemius muscle is a fusiform, two-headed, two-joint muscle. The two heads of origin are lateral and medial head taking origin from medial and lateral condyles of femur. In between the two heads tibial nerve passes. Its other end forms a common tendon with the soleus muscle; this tendon is known as the tendocalcaneus or Achilles tendon which get inserted to posterior surface of calcaneum. The case was reported during routine dissection for undergraduate M.B.B.S. students in Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh. The subject was 70-year-old male cadaver of North Indian origin. The accessory head was observed during the dissection of popliteal fossa. The Gastrocnemius muscle was bulky. The inferolateral and inferomedial boundary of the popliteal fossa were made by medial and lateral head of gastrocnemius. In addition to the normal medial and lateral head an accessory head of gastrocnemius was observed. The accessory head had bipennate arrangement of the muscle fibers. in the left lower limb were observed. All the heads were innervated by branches from tibial nerve. It is possible that this variant muscle could have a compressive effect on the tibial nerve and popliteal vessels, and the awareness of this may prevent its misinterpretation as a pathological structure by radiologists and surgeons.
Key words: Gastrocnemius, Soleus, Calcaneum.
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