| Opponens digiti minimi muscle | |
|---|---|
| The muscles of the thumb. (Opponens quinti digiti visible at center right.) | |
| Front of the left forearm. Deep muscles. (Opponens digiti quinti visible at bottom left.) | |
| Latin | musculus opponens digiti minimi |
| Gray's | subject #126 464 |
| Origin | Hook of hamate and flexor retinaculum |
| Insertion | Medial border of 5th metacarpal |
| Artery | ulnar artery |
| Nerve | deep branch of ulnar nerve (C8 and T1) |
| Actions | Draws 5th metacarpal anteriorly and rotates it, bringing little finger (5th digit) into opposition with thumb |
The opponens digiti minimi (opponens digiti quinti in older texts) is a muscle in the hand. It is of a triangular form, and placed immediately beneath the palmaris brevis, abductor minimi digiti, and flexor brevis minimi digiti. It is one of the three hypothenar muscles that controls the little finger.
It arises from the convexity of the hamulus of the hamate bone, and contiguous portion of the transverse carpal ligament; it is inserted into the whole length of the metacarpal bone of the little finger, along its ulnar margin.
Opponens minimi digiti serves to flex and laterally rotate the 5th metacarpal about the 5th carpometacarpal joint, as when bringing little finger and thumb into opposition. It is innervated by the deep branch of the ulnar nerve.
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.
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