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Development of digastric muscles in human foetuses: a review and findings in the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle
Affiliations- Department of Anatomy and Human embryology, Institute of Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Anatomy, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, 214122 Wuxi, China
- Division of Internal Medicine, Iwamizawa Asuka Hospital, Iwamizawa, Japan
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Yanbian University Medical College, 133002 Yanji, China
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Abstract
The digastricus and omohyoideus muscles are digastric muscles with two muscle bellies. An insertion tendon of the posterior belly becomes an intermediate tendon in digastricus muscles, whereas a single band-like muscle in omohyoideus muscles may later be interrupted by an intermediate tendon, possibly due to muscle cell death caused by mechanical stress. In human foetuses, an intermediate tendon provides the temporal origins of the tensor veli palatini and tensor tympani muscles. Some reptiles, including snakes, carry multiple series of digastric-like axial muscles, in which each intersegmental septum is likely to become an intermediate tendon. These findings indicate that many pathways are involved in the development of digastric muscles. A review of these morphologies suggested that the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) muscle was a digastric muscle, although the intermediate tendon may not be visible in the surface view in adults. The present observations support the hypothesis that the proximal anlage at the elbow develops into a deep muscle slip to a limited finger, while the distal anlage at the wrist develops into the other slips. The findings suggest that, in the FDS muscle, the proximal and distal bellies of the embryonic digastric muscle fuse together to form a laminar structure, in which muscle slips accumulate from the palmar to the deep side of the forearm. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 362–370)
Abstract
The digastricus and omohyoideus muscles are digastric muscles with two muscle bellies. An insertion tendon of the posterior belly becomes an intermediate tendon in digastricus muscles, whereas a single band-like muscle in omohyoideus muscles may later be interrupted by an intermediate tendon, possibly due to muscle cell death caused by mechanical stress. In human foetuses, an intermediate tendon provides the temporal origins of the tensor veli palatini and tensor tympani muscles. Some reptiles, including snakes, carry multiple series of digastric-like axial muscles, in which each intersegmental septum is likely to become an intermediate tendon. These findings indicate that many pathways are involved in the development of digastric muscles. A review of these morphologies suggested that the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) muscle was a digastric muscle, although the intermediate tendon may not be visible in the surface view in adults. The present observations support the hypothesis that the proximal anlage at the elbow develops into a deep muscle slip to a limited finger, while the distal anlage at the wrist develops into the other slips. The findings suggest that, in the FDS muscle, the proximal and distal bellies of the embryonic digastric muscle fuse together to form a laminar structure, in which muscle slips accumulate from the palmar to the deep side of the forearm. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 362–370)
Keywords
intermediate tendon, digastricus muscle, omohyoideus muscle, tensor veli palatini muscle, tensor tympani muscle, flexor digitorum superficialis muscle, human foetus
About this articleTitle
Development of digastric muscles in human foetuses: a review and findings in the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle
Journal
Issue
Article type
Original article
Pages
362-370
Published online
2017-08-31
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2296
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1394
DOI
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
Folia Morphol 2018;77(2):362-370.
Keywords
intermediate tendon
digastricus muscle
omohyoideus muscle
tensor veli palatini muscle
tensor tympani muscle
flexor digitorum superficialis muscle
human foetus
Authors
J.F. Rodríguez-Vázquez
Z.W. Jin
P. Zhao
G. Murakami
X.W. Li
Y. Jin
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