"

5.11 Muscles of the Upper Leg

Quadriceps Group, Hamstrings, and Adductor Group

Anterior and Posterior view of the Adductor Group, Quadriceps Group and Hamstrings.
Image by OpenStax, CC BY 4.0. Modified text labels.
Location of the Rectus femoris, Vastus lateralis and Vastus medialis
Image by OpenStax, CC BY 4.0  Modified text labels

Quadriceps Group

Action: Knee extension and hip flexion

Made up of the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius. Also referred to as the “quads”.

 

 

 

Location of the Semimembranosus, Semitendinosus and Biceps femoris
Image by OpenStax, CC BY 4.0  Modified text labels

Hamstrings

Action: Knee flexion and hip extension

Made up of the biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus. Also referred to as the “hammies” 

 

 

 

Location of the adductor brevis, Adductor longus and Adductor magnus
Image by OpenStax, CC BY 4.0  Modified text labels

Adductor Group

Action: Adduction of the hip

Made up of the adductor magnus, adductor longus, and adductor brevis.

 

 

 

 

 

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

The Foundations of Human Movement and Physical Fitness Copyright © 2025 by A.J. Stephen; Sarah Fraser; and Connor Dalton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book