Where it is
The front of the upper arm, mostly on the medial face; from the side only its edge is visible.
- Layer
- Muscles
- System
- Muscles
- Region
- Forelimb
What it is and what it does
In the dog it has a single head. It arises from the supraglenoid tubercle of the scapula and inserts by a branched tendon on the tuberosities of the radius and ulna. It flexes the elbow and extends the shoulder.
Unlike in humans, in domestic mammals it has a single tendon of origin; the name "biceps" is kept by tradition for a one-headed muscle. The tendon passes over the extensor side of the shoulder joint, through the intertubercular groove of the humerus, where the transverse humeral retinaculum holds it, and the muscle then runs down the craniomedial face of the upper arm. At the elbow the stronger part inserts on the radial tuberosity, the other on the proximal ulna; the muscle also stabilises the shoulder. Nerve: musculocutaneous.
Worth remembering
It bends the elbow and extends the shoulder.
Names
- Latin term: musculus biceps brachii.
- In Romanian: Bicepsul brahial (Romanian page).