Human muscles in 3D

How the muscular system is organised

Each skeletal muscle has an origin, usually the more fixed attachment, and an insertion on the bone it moves. The muscle that produces a movement is the agonist, the one that opposes it the antagonist, and synergists and fixators steady the joints involved. Biceps brachii and triceps brachii at the elbow are the classic pair.

By region, the head has the muscles of facial expression and mastication; the neck holds sternocleidomastoid, the scalenes and the hyoid muscles; the trunk has the back muscles, the intercostals and the diaphragm; and the limbs have muscles grouped in compartments by function and nerve supply.

What the 3D model shows

The model shows the muscles of the whole body on both sides, set on the full skeleton: the facial and masticatory muscles, the extra-ocular muscles, the muscles of the tongue, palate, pharynx and larynx, the neck muscles and the deep muscles of the back, the intercostals, diaphragm and external oblique, the pelvic floor, and the muscles of the shoulder, arm, hand, hip, leg and foot. Muscle layers let you remove the superficial muscles to reveal the deeper ones underneath.

How to study the muscles

Work region by region rather than all at once. Pick a region, start with the superficial layer in the anterior view, then turn to the posterior view. For each muscle, name its origin, insertion, action and nerve, then hide it and see what lies beneath. Use the search to jump to a muscle you keep confusing with a neighbour and isolate it to see both attachments. Then close the model and recall the layers in order; repeating that recall over several days works far better than rereading.