A CASE REPORT ON BILATERAL THREE SEPARATE HEADS OF SOLEUS MUSCLE AND ITS CLINICAL IMPORTANCE

SAWANT S.P.^1
1Department of Anatomy, K.J. Somaiya Medical College, Somaiya Ayurvihar, Eastern Express Highway, Sion, Mumbai-400 022, MS, India.

Received : 04-01-2013     Accepted : 24-01-2014     Published : 31-03-2014
Volume : 2     Issue : 1       Pages : 34 - 36
World Res J Med Sci 2.1 (2014):34-36

During routine dissection, of a 70 years old donated embalmed male cadaver in the Department of Anatomy, K.J. Somaiya Medical College, Sion, Mumbai, India, the variant soleus muscle on both the lower limbs was observed. The back of thigh, popliteal region and back of leg of both the lower limbs were dissected meticulously to observe the variations in the soleus muscle. The soleus muscle showed the three separate heads. The tibial head from soleal line present on the posterior surface of the tibia, the fibular head from the back of the head of the fibula and the intermediate head from the tendinous arch placed between the tibial and the fibular origins of the muscle. The three heads of soleus muscle along with the medial and the lateral heads of gastrocnemius formed the tendo calcaneus which got inserted into the middle part of the posterior surface of the calcaneus bone. The pattern of vessels in the lower limb were normal. The variation was bilateral. The photographs of both the variant soleus muscles were taken for proper documentation. Conclusion: The existence of such variation of the soleus muscle should be kept in mind by the surgeons, the orthopaedicians, the radiologists and also by the physiotherapists. The three heads of soleus may prove significant and lead to confusion during surgical procedures. A lack of awareness such variations might complicate surgical repair.