HUMAN POLY-ARTICULAR MUSCLES - AN ANATOMICAL COMMENT

Bi-articular muscles form a subclass of poly-articular muscles. Muscle s in human limbs belonging to these classes are enumerated. For some o f these muscles experimental evidence had been given that they direct forces on the environment and move segments of the limbs in a unique w ay. They perform the combination of these effects in cooperation with mono-articular antagonists. Such muscles are situated in the lower lim b. Analyses of upper limb movements were less convincing. They were no t complete. In the literature the kinematic studies were found from wh ich a hypothesis about the functioning of the poly-articular muscles m oving the fingers may be deduced. Expansion of an experiment of Long e t al. (1970) with analysis of forces exerted may provide an interpreta tion of the cooperation of finger poly-articular muscles. The terms an tagonist and synergist are redefined.