The plantaris is a small muscle that exists in about 90% of people. It originates from the lateral supracondylar ridge of the femur, and inserts into the Achilles tendon or at the posterior part of the medial surface of the calcaneus [1]. If it is injured it can cause symptoms, which could be mistakenly attributed to “tennis leg”, baker’s cyst rupture, or venous thrombosis [1]. An accessory plantaris muscle has been described in the radiologic literature as an additional muscular bundle that originates from the...

We reviewed the MR knee examinations and the radiologic reports of 600 consecutive patients that were performed in our department, between March and October 2017. The aim was to discover knees with accessory plantaris muscles. The patients were referred to our department mostly because of knee pain. All MR examinations were performed in 1.5 Tesla units. The examination protocol consisted of the following sequences: coronal T1 weighted sequence, sagittal dual echo sequence, and axial and coronal proton density weighted with fat saturation sequences. The field...

The review of the MRI examinations revealed an accessory plantaris muscle in 15 out of the 600 patients (2.5%) [fig.1-table]. Patients’ age ranged from 16 to 59 yrs (mean age=38yrs). There were 9 female patients (1.5%) and 6 male patients (1%). There was no statistically significant difference between the prevalence of the accessory plantaris muscle in males versus females. In 3 patients MRI was performed on both knees. In one of them (case 1) the accessory plantaris muscle was found on both sides [fig.2-case1], while...

In cases where a mass lesion is shown between the iliotibial band and the lateral femoral condyle, the radiologist should carefully compare the signal intensity of the mass with that of muscle tissue, and follow its entire length to ensure that it is inserted into the iliotibial band anteriorly and blends with the native plantaris muscle posteriorly, in order to report it as an accessory plantaris muscle. The presence and the volume of the accessory plantaris muscle between the two sides of the body can...

1. Spina, Andreo. The plantaris muscle: anatomy, injury, imaging, and treatment. J Can Chiropr Assoc. 2007, Vol. 51, 3, pp. 158-165. 2. Herzog, Richard Joseph. Accessory Plantaris Muscle: Anatomy and Prevalence. HSSJ. 2011, 7, pp. 52-56. 3. Lemos, Mark J. In 2016 Divergence Goes Beyond the United States 2-Party System: Interference Screw Divergence in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction of the Knee Revisited. Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery. 33, 2017, Vol. 2, pp. 362-363. 4. John Fairclough, et al. The functional anatomy of...

Konstantinos Pikoulas Consultant Radiologist KAT Hospital Athens Greece email: [email protected]