ORIGIN: lateral condyle of femur and lateral meniscus.
INSERTION: posterior surface of tibia, into the medial two-thirds of the triangular area above the soleal line.
MNEMONIC: numbers popped (popliteus) from the little dial(lateral condyle) of the phone(femur) kept on the table(tibia).
NERVE SUPPLY: tibial nerve
ACTIONS: The popliteus muscle is involved in two main movements of the knee joint: flexion and internal rotation. Knee flexion occurs when the knee joint bends, while internal rotation occurs when the knee joint rotates or turns inward toward the midline of the body.
These movements of the knee caused by the popliteus muscle play an important role in walking. As you walk, your leg straightens or ”locks out” each time you step forward and put weight on your front leg. As you step forward with your other leg, this original leg will need to bend or unlock to push off the ground to propel you forward. The popliteus muscle causes your leg to unlock from this straight leg position by helping the leg to bend and slightly internally rotate.
-Ariba Ali, Anuja Mandavkar