Flexor carpi ulnaris muscle
| Flexor carpi ulnaris |
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| 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 |
| Action: |
flexion of wrist |
| Antagonist: |
Extensor carpi ulnaris muscle |
| Dorlands/Elsevier |
m_22/12549030 |
The flexor carpi ulnaris muscle (FCU) is a muscle of the human forearm that acts to flex and adduct the hand.
Origin and insertion
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.
- The humeral head arises from the medial epicondyle of the humerus by the common flexor tendon.
- The ulnar head arises from the medial margin of the olecranon of the ulna and from the upper two-thirds of the dorsal border of the ulna by an aponeurosis.
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.
Tendon
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, they will see 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.)
Exercises
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.
Additional images
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List of muscles of upper limbs |
| VERTEBRAL COLUMN |
trapezius - latissimus dorsi - rhomboid (major, minor) - levator scapulae |
| THORACIC WALLS |
pectoralis major - pectoralis minor - subclavius - serratus anterior |
| SHOULDER |
deltoid - rotator cuff (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis) - teres major |
| ARM |
anterior compartment: coracobrachialis - biceps brachii - brachialis
posterior compartment: triceps brachii - anconeus |
| FOREARM |
anterior compartment: super. - pronator teres - palmaris longus - flexor carpi radialis - flexor carpi ulnaris - flexor digitorum superficialis - deep - pronator quadratus - flexor digitorum profundus - flexor pollicis longus
posterior compartment: super. - mobile wad (brachioradialis, extensor carpi radialis longus and brevis) - extensor digitorum, - extensor digiti minimi - extensor carpi ulnaris - deep - supinator - anatomical snuff box (abductor pollicis longus, extensor pollicis brevis, extensor pollicis longus) - extensor indicis |
| HAND |
lateral volar - thenar (opponens pollicis, flexor pollicis brevis, abductor pollicis brevis, adductor pollicis)
medial volar - palmaris brevis - hypothenar (abductor minimi digiti, flexor digiti minimi brevis, opponens digiti minimi)
intermediate - lumbrical - dorsal interossei - palmar interossei |
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