Bifurcated plantaris with rare relations to the neurovascular bundle in the popliteal fossa

Abstract

The plantaris muscle (PM) is a vestigial muscle in human. The PM arises as a small muscular belly from the lateral condyle of the femur and then its long tendon inserts into the calcaneum or blends with the tendocalcaneus. There are many reports to describe the variations in the origin, nature of muscle, course of the tendon, and insertion of PM. However, here we report a case of a rare and unreported variation of PM with one common origin and two muscle bellies with peculiar relations with the neurovascular bundle in the popliteal fossa. Although its anatomical functions are insignificant, its tendon is useful as a graft in various reconstructive surgeries and variation in this muscle and its relation to nearby neurovascular bundle may be of clinical interest. Therefore, the present variation is worth considering in predicting uncommon neurovascular entrapment in the leg and may also be useful in various surgical procedures in the region of the knee joint.