Plantaris

Lateral supracondylar ridge of femur above lateral head of gastrocnemius

Tendo calcaneus (medial side, deep to gastrocnemius tendon)

Plantar flexes foot and flexes knee

Tibial nerve

Sural arteries

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Functions:

Plantaris acts to weakly:

-Plantarflex the ankle joint
-Flex the knee joint

Plantaris may also provide proprioceptive feedback information to the central nervous system regarding the position of the foot. The unusually high density of proprioceptive receptor end organs supports this notion.

Its motor function is so minimal that its long tendon can readily be harvested for reconstruction elsewhere with little functional deficit. Often mistaken for a nerve by freshman medical students (the so called, “freshman nerve”), the muscle was useful to other primates for grasping with their feet. It has disappeared altogether in 9 percent of the population.