What is the useless muscle in the arm?

Author: Darrin Murphy  |  Last update: Monday, September 22, 2025

Abstract. The palmaris longus (PL) muscle is considered by many to be a vestigial muscle due to it having little to no functional significance on the upper limb.

Why is palmaris longus useless?

Why It's Vestigial: Variability: One of the key reasons the palmaris longus is considered vestigial is its high variability in the human population. Not everyone has this muscle, and it's often absent in about 10-15% of individuals.

What is the weakest muscle in the body?

Visceral muscle is found inside of organs like the stomach, intestines, and blood vessels. The weakest of all muscle tissues, visceral muscle makes organs contract to move substances through the organ.

What is the rare arm muscle?

The palmaris profundus, a rare accessory muscle which passes through the carpal canal, was identified during a routine carpal tunnel decompression. The anatomic location of this muscle and its relationship to the palmaris longus are discussed.

What happens if you cut the palmaris longus?

Hence we advocate the repair of palmaris longus tendon when it is divided. The repair should be considered if the cut is single and at the wrist or at the musculotendinous junction. Once the tendon is cut, the muscle will retract and the tendon may curl up ending in a mass which will be unusable later.

Why Your Tendons Are Weak: The Science of Building Tendon Strength

Is the palmaris longus tendon useful?

The palmaris longus is a muscle that helps bend your wrist and pinch with your thumb. It's so weak, however, that it's now considered a "spare" muscle! You may have it in one or both of your wrists and it is less common in women than in men.

How rare is palmaris longus?

The prevalence of the palmaris longus (PL) muscle varies more than any other muscle in the human body. Its absence across the world ranges between 1.5% and 63.9%. It presents with many different anomalies, discovered either clinically, intraoperatively or after anatomical examination of cadavers.

What's the hardest arm muscle to grow?

Many people spend a lot of time training the biceps, with very little results to show. In fact, the biceps are one of the hardest muscles for beginners to build.

What is the hidden arm muscle?

Your coracobrachialis is a small, hidden muscle at the front of your upper arm, close to your armpit.

What is a rare muscle weakness?

Inclusion body myositis is a rare condition that causes muscle weakness and damage. Symptoms of IBM vary, but usually include progressive weakness in muscles of the hand, forearm, thigh and lower leg. Diagnosing IBM can be challenging because the symptoms are not unique to this condition.

What muscles can you live without?

Auricular muscles control the visible part of the ear, but humans have lost the ability to use them. Other mammals use these muscles to detect prey and predators. The auricular muscles of the ear help other mammals localize sound and express emotion, according to Britannica.

What is the beer drinking muscle?

This article will discuss the anatomy and function of brachioradialis muscle. Function: Its the Beer mug Raising muscle (i.e. flexes elbow, strongest when the wrist is held for holding a beer mug.) Innervation: Breaks Rule in that it's a flexor muscle, But Radial. (Radial nerve usually is for extensors).

Which finger has muscle?

The intrinsic muscle groups are the thenar (thumb) and hypothenar (little finger) muscles; the interossei muscles (four dorsally and three volarly) originating between the metacarpal bones; and the lumbrical muscles arising from the deep flexor (and which are special because they have no bony origin) to insert on the ...

Who has no palmaris longus?

Reviews report rates of absence in the general population ranging from 10–20%; however, the rate varies in different ethnic groups. Absence of the palmaris longus does not have an effect on grip strength. The lack of palmaris longus muscle does result in decreased pinch strength in fourth and fifth fingers.

What race has palmaris longus?

The prevalence of this absence of the palmaris longus is reported as 22.4 % in Caucasian, 4.8 % in Asian, 3.0 % in Black, 7.1 % in Native American, 26.6 % in Turkish, and 17.2 % in Indian population (8 % bilateral and 9.2 % unilateral) [5, 6, 11].

Can you have 2 palmaris longus?

The palmaris longus muscle is one of the most variable muscles in human anatomy. During a routine anatomical dissection for medical students at Tottori University, we found duplicate palmaris longus muscles in the bilateral forearms together with the palmaris profundus muscle in the right forearm.

What is the Popeye arm?

Because the biceps muscle is no longer attached to bone at the elbow, it retracts and bunches up in the upper arm, resulting in the bulge that resembles Popeye's spinach-assisted muscle. The diagnosis usually is obvious because of this bulging muscle and a gap in the front of the elbow where the tendon was attached.

What is the weird arm condition?

Liebenberg syndrome is a condition that involves abnormal development of the arms, resulting in characteristic arm malformations that can vary in severity. In people with this condition, bones and other tissues in the elbows, forearms, wrists, and hands have characteristics of related structures in the lower limbs.

What's the easiest muscle to build?

What Are the Easiest Muscles To Build?
  • Biceps and Triceps. The biceps and triceps are the main muscles in your upper arm, with the triceps being the arm's largest muscle. ...
  • Latissimus Dorsi. ...
  • Quadriceps. ...
  • Calves and Forearms. ...
  • Abdominal Muscles. ...
  • Hamstrings.

Which arm muscle is most important?

Biceps brachii.

When you hold your arm out to the side with your palm up, the biceps is the muscle that sits on the top of your upper arm. This large muscle is responsible for bending your elbow and turning your palm up, meaning it's critical to your ability to perform tasks like hand feeding.

What is the most stubborn muscle?

Calves are one of the most stubborn muscle groups to grow, and the reason is simple: they're adapted to high-frequency use. The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles are under constant tension throughout the day from walking and standing, meaning they recover quickly and require higher volume to stimulate growth.

Is the palmaris longus useful?

Function. Palmaris longus synergistically works with the long flexors of the forearm to bring about flexion at the wrist joint and small joints of the hand. Apart from this, the muscle also helps in tightening and tensing up the palmar aponeurosis.

What is a vestigial muscle in the forearm?

The palmaris longus (PL) muscle is considered by many to be a vestigial muscle due to it having little to no functional significance on the upper limb. This, however, made it highly valuable in surgical procedures, especially as a graft in plastic and reconstructive cases.

Do some people have extra muscles?

The Mystery of the Extra Quadriceps

We are typically taught that the quadriceps consist of four muscles—hence the name “quad.” However, there are fascinating cases where individuals have five or even six quadriceps muscles. Yes, six!

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