Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

The abductor pollicis brevis is a muscle in the hand that functions as an abductor of the thumb.

Structure

The abductor pollicis brevis is a flat, thin muscle located just under the skin. It is a thenar muscle, and therefore contributes to the bulk of the palm's thenar eminence.

It originates from the flexor retinaculum of the hand, the tubercle of the scaphoid bone, and additionally sometimes from the tubercle of the trapezium.

Running lateralward and downward, it is inserted by a thin, flat tendon into the lateral side of the base of the first phalanx of the thumb and the capsule of the metacarpophalangeal joint.

Innervation

The abductor pollicis brevis is innervated by the recurrent branch of the median nerve. C8/T1

Actions

Abduction of the thumb is defined as the movement of the thumb anteriorly, a direction perpendicular to the palm. The abductor pollicis brevis does this by acting across both the carpometacarpal joint and the metacarpophalangeal joint.

It also assists in opposition and extension of the thumb.

Additional images

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  Abductor pollicis brevis visible at center right.

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  Nerves of the left upper extremity

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  Cadaver dissection

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  Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

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  Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

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  Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

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  Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

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  Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

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  Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

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  Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

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  Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

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  Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

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  Abductor pollicis brevis muscle

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  Muscles of hand. Cross section.

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)