Flexor digiti minimi brevis muscle (hand)

Flexor digiti minimi brevis

The muscles of the left hand. Palmar surface
Details
Latin musculus flexor digiti minimi brevis manus
hamate bone
ulnar side of the base of the proximal phalanx of minimi
ulnar artery
deep branch of ulnar nerve
Actions flexes little finger
Antagonist
Extensor digiti minimi muscle
Identifiers
Gray's p.464
Dorlands
/Elsevier
m_22/12549047
TA A04.6.02.063
FMA 37383
Anatomical terms of muscle

The flexor digiti minimi brevis is a muscle in the hand that flexes the little finger. It lies in the same plane as the abductor digiti minimi, on its radial side.

Structure

It arises from the convex surface of the hamulus of the hamate bone, and the palmar surface of the flexor retinaculum of the hand, and is inserted into the ulnar side of the base of the first phalanx of the little finger.

It is separated from the abductor digiti minimi, at its origin, by the deep branches of the ulnar artery and the ulnar nerve. This muscle is sometimes not present; in these cases, the abductor digiti minimi is usually larger than normal.

It is a hypothenar muscle.

Innervation

The flexor digiti minimi brevis, like other hypothenar muscles, is innervated by the deep branch of the ulnar nerve.

Actions

The flexor digiti minimi flexes the little finger.

Etymology

The name of this muscle is Latin for the 'short flexor of the little finger'. Note that brevis is usually included to differentiate it from a longus muscle of the same name. The flexor digiti minimi longus, however, is not found in the typical human, but instead is a rare anatomical variation.

Additional images

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

External links