The term adductor muscles (comes from the Latin “adducere” ≙ “to bring up”) in general sport-related or medical usage usually refers to a group of muscles that are located on the inside of the thighs. Of course, there are also adductors or muscles that act as adductors in other parts of the body. This article is all about the adductor group, which acts on the hip joint. Probably the most important adductors that belong to this group of adductors are the main topic of this article and are listed below and shown in Figure 1.

Adductor muscles – Anatomy

If you look at the front of the thigh, you can only partially see the adductor magnus (see Fig. 1). The muscle is extended towards the surface by the Mm. adductor brevis and longus obscured. The adductor magnus muscle lies in front of the hamstrings (specifically in front of the semimembranosus and semitendinosus muscles). The muscle has an extensive origin, ranging from the pubic ramus (“ramus inferior ossis pubis”) to the lower area on the outside of a rough bony prominence on the ischium (“os ischii” ≙ “ischial bone”; “tuber ischiadicum” ≙ the named “ bony prominence”).

While the portion of the adductor magnus that arises from the pubic rami anteriorly rotates to then insert on the femur, the posterior portion of the muscle that arises from the ischium pulls straight down to insert at a bony prominence on the internal condyle of the femur (see Fig. 2 and 3; “Epicondylus medialis femoris” ≙ the mentioned condyle; “Tuberculum adductorium” ≙ the mentioned bone elevation). It is possible that some fibers of the muscle radiate into the medial ligament (“ligamentum collaterale mediale”) of the knee joint (Palastanga & Soames, 2015). A small and incomplete, not present in all adults (Tubbs et al., 2011), near the pelvis separation of the adductor magnus is called “M. adductor minimus” (Sobotta, 2017; Waschke, Böckers & Paulsen, 2019). When looking at Figures 2 and 3, it is noticeable that the area between the two attachments of the adductor magnus forms a kind of opening. This is the so-called “hiatus adductorius”. Pass through this opening u. the large femoral artery and the large femoral vein (Waschke, Böckers & Paulsen, 2019; called artery ≙ femoral artery; called vein ≙ femoral vein).

The gracilis (Fig. 6) is a long, thin muscle that extends from the front of the pubic bone and down from the inferior pubic ramus to attach on the inside of the tibia below the internal condyle (“pubic bone” ≙ “os pubis”; “inferior pubic ramus” ≙ “ramus inferior ossis pubis”; “inner articular condyle of the tibia” ≙ “condylus medialis tibiae”).

Essentially, the Gracilis shares a common approach with the Mm. sartorius and semitendinosus. This collective attachment area is also referred to as “pes anserinus superficialis” (Sobotta, 2017; Waschke, Böckers & Paulsen, 2019; due to the 3 tendons involved, the joint attachment is reminiscent of a goose foot → “pes” ≙ “foot”; “anserinus” ≙ “Goose”; “Superficialis” ≙ “superficial”).

The pectineus originates relatively widely. Its origin is on a bony edge on the upper pubic ramus, on a bony tubercle of the pubic bone and at a connection point between the pubic bone and ilium (the above-mentioned “bone edge” ≙ “Pecten ossis pubis”; “upper pubic ramus” ≙ “Ramus superior ossis pubis”; the above-mentioned “bony tubercle” ≙ “Tuberculum pubicum”; the “connection point between pubic bone and ilium” ≙ “Eminentia iliopubica”). At its base it pulls backwards down and outwards to the thigh. On the upper thigh it radiates into a bony ridge (the so-called “bony ridge” ≙ “Linea pectinea femoris”) (Palastanga & Soames, 2015).

Behind the Latin name one can assume the verb “obturare”, which can be translated as “to clog”. A noun for this would be e.g. “seal”. “Externus” indicates “externally”. Accordingly, it can be assumed that the muscle seals something. And indeed, the muscle lies over an opening in the pelvis, the “foramen obturatum”.

The outer surface of a membrane between the pubic bone and the ischium as well as its bony edges serve as the origin of the obturatorius externus (the so-called membrane ≙ “membrana obturatoria”), and the muscle uses a depression on the back of the femoral neck as an attachment (the so-called depression ≙ “fossa trochanterica “).

The Latin name already indicates the shape and position of the muscle (Figs. 10 and 11). This square muscle arises from a rough bony prominence on the ischial bone (called the bony prominence ≙ “tuber ischialicum”). It pulls outwards towards the thigh (“femur”) in order to start in an elevation of the groin between the two trochanters (the groin ≙ “crista intertrochanterica”; the elevation ≙ “tuberculum quadratum”; the lesser trochanter ≙ “trochanter minor”; the large trochanters ≙ “trochanter major”).

As can be seen in Figures 12 and 13, the gluteus maximus has a broad origin. Essentially, it originates from the iliac bone, sacrum, from a ligament in the rear part of the pelvis and a large fascia in the lumbar region (the origins are a little more precise: “Facies glutea” on the “Os ilium”; “Facies posterior”; “Lig. Sacrotuberale”; thoracolumbar fascia). The cranial portion of the muscle pulls outward and down to radiate onto a tough strand of connective tissue on the outside of the thigh as part of a large fascia that surrounds the muscles of the thigh. The caudal part of the gluteus maximus attaches to a rough area between the greater trochanter and a ridge of bone on the thigh (the connective tissue cord called ≙ “iliotibial band”; the called fascia ≙ “fascia lata”; the rough area ≙ “tuberositas glutea”; the Bar ≙ “Linea aspera”) (Waschke, Böckers & Paulsen, 2019).

The muscles of the adductor group primarily live up to their name and adduct in the hip joint. That is, the thigh is brought to the center of the body (in the frontal plane). According to Palastanga & Soames (2015), the adductors are strongest in the “anatomically normal position (nullposition)”*.

The M. gracilis has two joints and accordingly also acts on the knee joint by supporting knee flexion and internal rotation (Palastanga & Soames, 2015; Waschke, Böckers & Paulsen, 2019). The external obturator, quadratus femoris, and gluteus maximus muscles may also assist in adduction. In the gluteus maximus, adduction is performed through the caudal portion (Waschke, Böckers & Paulsen, 2019). The primary functions of the gluteus maximus are to extend and externally rotate the hip joint, particularly from a flexed position. In addition, this muscle can also aid in hip abduction and knee extension through its attachment to the iliotibial tract. The attachment to the iliotibial band also has a stabilizing effect on the outside of the knee. In addition, the gluteus maximus plays an important role in pelvic stabilization while standing and walking (Palastanga & Soames, 2015).