| Flexor carpi ulnaris | |
|---|---|
| Dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views of deep muscles of the forearm. FCU is visible in blue. | |
| Latin | musculus flexor carpi ulnaris |
| Gray's | subject #125 447 |
| Origin | medial epicondyle (common flexor tendon) |
| Insertion | pisiform |
| Artery | ulnar artery |
| Nerve | muscular branches of ulnar nerve |
| Actions | flexion of wrist, Adduction of the wrist |
| Antagonist | Extensor carpi ulnaris muscle |
The flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) muscle is a muscle of the human forearm that acts to flex and adduct the hand.
Contents |
Flexor carpi ulnaris muscle arises by two heads - humeral and ulnar, connected by a tendinous arch beneath which the ulnar nerve and ulnar artery pass.
Its insertion is into the pisiform bone and then via ligaments into the hamate bone and 5th metacarpal bone, acting to flex and adduct the wrist joint.
The tendon of flexor carpi ulnaris can be seen on the anterior of the distal forearm. On a person's distal forearm, right before the wrist, there will be either two or three tendons. Flexor carpi ulnaris is the most medial (closest to the little finger) of these. (The most lateral one is flexor carpi radialis muscle, and the middle one, if it exists, is palmaris longus.)
The muscle, like all flexors of the forearm, can be strengthened by exercises that resist its flexion. A wrist roller can be used and wrist curls with dumbbells can also be performed. These exercises are used to prevent injury to the ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint.
Ulnar entrapment by the aponeurosis of the 2 heads of the flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) muscle may cause cubital tunnel syndrome.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||