Journal of Medical Academics

Register      Login

VOLUME 7 , ISSUE 2 ( July-December, 2024 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Morphological and Morphometric Study of Psoas Minor Muscle and Its Clinical Importance: A Cadaveric Study

Alok P Acharya, Manitombi Devi Angom, Subhash Bhukya, Rahul Jha, Abhishek Banerjee, Vishan Dev Singh Jamwal, Aseem Tandon

Keywords : Cadaver, Psoas minor, Vestigial muscle

Citation Information : Acharya AP, Angom MD, Bhukya S, Jha R, Banerjee A, Jamwal VD, Tandon A. Morphological and Morphometric Study of Psoas Minor Muscle and Its Clinical Importance: A Cadaveric Study. Journal of Medical Academics 2024; 7 (2):47-50.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-11003-0147

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 31-12-2024

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).


Abstract

Psoas minor, which is present anterior to the psoas major in a variable proportion of the population. The study aimed to examine the psoas minor, a vestigial muscle in the posterior abdominal wall, in terms of its presence, morphology, variations, and measurements within a western Maharashtra population using 41 formalin-fixed cadavers. Results showed that the psoas minor was present in 48.78% of the cadavers, with equal occurrence between male and female subjects. No variations in the muscle's proximal and distal attachments were identified, except for a unique “double-headed” psoas minor found in one specimen. The mean length and maximum width of the muscle belly were 7.29 ± 0.129 cm and 1.45 ± 0.60 cm, respectively, on the right side, and 7.08 ± 0.147 cm and 1.33 ± 0.148 cm on the left side. For the tendon, the mean length and maximum width were 16.87 ± 0.302 cm and 0.92 ± 0.08 cm on the right, and 17.10 ± 0.35 cm and 0.80 ± 0.087 cm on the left. The findings suggest that the presence or absence of the psoas minor is important for various medical professionals, including anatomists, clinicians, radiologists, sports medicine specialists, and physiotherapists. The prevalence of this muscle varies by race, but not by gender. Additionally, no connection was found between the absence of the psoas minor and the absence of other vestigial muscles. This study provides valuable insights into the characteristics of the psoas minor in a specific population.


PDF Share
  1. Standring S. (Ed). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. 41st ed. Elsevier: New York; 2016.
  2. Protas M, Voin V, Wang JM, et al. A rare case of double-headed psoas minor muscle with review of its known variants. Cureus 2017;9(6):e1312. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.1312
  3. Boileau Grant JC, Basmajian JV. Grant's Method of Anatomy. 10th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 1980.
  4. Seib GA. Incidence of the m. psoas minor in man. Am J Phys Anthropol 2005;19:229–246. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.1330190222
  5. Joshi SD, Joshi SS, Dandekar UK, et al. Morphology of psoas minor and psoas accessorius. J Anat Soc India 2010;59:31–34. DOI: 10.1016/S0003-2778(10)80008-5
  6. Farias MCG, Oliveira BDR, Rocha TDS, et al. Morphological and morphometric analysis of psoas minor muscle in cadavers. J Morphol Sci 2012;29:202–205.
  7. Guerra DR, Reis FP, de Andrade Bastos A. et al. Anatomical study of the psoas minor muscle in human fetuses. Int J Morphol 2012;30(1):136–139.
  8. Bergman RA. Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation. Anatomy Atlases; 1996.
  9. Macalister A. Additional observations on muscular anomalies in human anatomy (third series) with a catalogue of the principal muscular variations hitherto published. Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. Dublin; 1872.
  10. Buckingham M, Bajard L, Chang T, et al. The formation of skeletal muscle: from somite to limb. J Anat 2003;202:59–68. DOI: 10.1046/j.1469-7580.2003.00139.x
  11. Yan X, Zhu MJ, Dodson MV, et al. Developmental programming of fetal skeletal muscle and adipose tissue development. J Genomics 2013;1:29–38. DOI: 10.7150/jgen.3930
  12. Neumann DA, Garceau LR. A proposed novel function of the psoas minor revealed through cadaver dissection. Clin Anat 2015;28:243–252. DOI: 10.1002/ca.22467
  13. Zhang R, Hou Z, Zhang L, et al. Insertion of psoas minor tendon at pelvic brim, a novel anatomic landmark for extra-articular, screw placement through Stoppa approach. Injury 2017;48(4):897–902. DOI: 10.1016/j.injury.2017.02.014
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.