plantaris
A small thin muscle at the back of the lower leg that helps move the foot
- noun
- /plænˈtɛrɪs/
- Specialized
:
plantar
- When the athlete strained his plantaris, he felt pain in his lower leg.
Examples
-
Their function has shifted plantaris muscle.
-
The plantaris muscle helps with flexing the foot while walking.
-
Surgery on the plantaris is rarely required because it is not a major muscle.
Surface Forms
plantaris singular
plantarises plural
Etymology
Plantaris comes from the Latin word planta meaning 'sole (bottom) of the foot' and the ending -aris meaning 'relating to'. So plantaris is the small muscle 'relating to the sole', which explains why it runs toward the heel and helps move the foot.