Anatomical and functional study on the musculus semimembranosus.

The dissection of 18 knees taken from fresh cadavers has led to a detailed description of the semimembranosus muscle (musculus semimembranosus). It is exclusively tibial with its three tendons rendering the muscle functional, whatever the position of the knee may be. There are other attachments, sometimes described are merely expansions extending to the menisco-tibial and menisco-femoral formations, from which this distal termination must be distinguished. Electromyography performed on 17 specimens confirms that this muscle serves more as a brake on outer rotation than an inner rotator muscle, especially when the hip is flexed and the knee stretched.