"Popliteofascial muscle" or rare variant of the tensor fasciae suralis?

Abstract

Anatomical variations are routinely encountered during dissections of muscles and in clinical practice, so anatomists and clinicians need to be aware of them. One such muscle is the tensor fascia suralis, a very rare muscle located in the popliteal fossa. It can originate from any of the hamstring muscles and it inserts into the fascia of the leg. This report presents a case of a variant muscle located very deep to the biceps femoris; it originated from the posterior surface of the femur and inserted into the fascia of the leg. It is unclear whether this is a rare variant of the tensor fascia suralis or a completely new muscle.

Keywords: biceps femoris; hamstring tendon; new muscle; semitendinosus muscle; semitendinosus tendon; supernumerary muscles; tensor fascia suralis muscle; variant muscle.