Muscle · Knee

Articularis genu

Musculus articularis genus

A handful of small muscle slips on the front of the femur just above the knee, lying under vastus intermedius and often partly blended with it. They do not reach a bone at their lower end — they insert into the top of the knee joint's synovial pouch, the fold of lining that extends up above the kneecap. Their job is to pull that fold upward as the knee straightens, so it is drawn out of the way instead of being caught between the kneecap and the femur. It is a small muscle with a specific mechanical purpose: keeping a joint's own lining clear of its moving surfaces.