Gluteus minimus muscle

At a glance

English

Gluteus minimus muscle

Latin (TA2)

Musculus gluteus minimus

System

Muscle

Region

Lower limb

Side

Paired, left and right

About the gluteus minimus muscle

Gluteus minimus is the least of the gluteal muscles in size and lies deepest, directly under gluteus medius and on the hip joint capsule. It is fan-shaped and much like gluteus medius in form and action, so the two are often treated as a pair.

Its fibres come from the lowest part of the ilium's outer face, the strip bounded by the anterior gluteal line above and the inferior line below, and behind from the rim of the greater sciatic notch. They converge onto the deep surface of a radiating aponeurosis that becomes a tendon on an impression at the front edge of the greater trochanter. On the way it sends a band to the hip capsule, so its pull may draw the capsule clear of the joint during movement, much as articularis genus does at the knee. A bursa separates the tendon from the trochanter.

Between gluteus medius and minimus run the superior gluteal artery and vein, by their deep branches, and the superior gluteal nerve, which supplies both muscles and tensor fasciae latae. The deep surface of minimus rests on the reflected head of rectus femoris and on the joint capsule. The muscle may be split into front and back parts or send slips to piriformis, superior gemellus or vastus lateralis.

With gluteus medius it abducts the thigh and, above all, holds the pelvis level when the body is supported on one leg, together with tensor fasciae latae. Its front fibres help flex the hip and rotate the thigh medially, a pull that is strongest when the hip is bent. It is also a deep stabiliser, holding the head of the femur in the socket. Damage to the superior gluteal nerve weakens both muscles and produces a Trendelenburg gait. Tears or tendinopathy of its tendon are a frequent cause of pain over the outer hip.

Attachments, action and supply

Origin

Outer face of the ilium, from the anterior gluteal line down to the inferior one, and the rim of the greater sciatic notch.

Insertion

Front edge of the greater trochanter, with a slip to the hip joint capsule.

Action

Abducts the thigh and keeps the pelvis level in single-leg stance; front fibres flex and medially rotate the hip; steadies the femoral head.

Nerve supply

Superior gluteal nerve (L4, L5, S1).

Blood supply

Deep branch of the superior gluteal artery, with branches of the trochanteric anastomosis.