Gluteus Medius #Anatomy

Courtesy: Prof Nabil Ebraheim, University of Toledo, Ohio, USA

This video describes anatomy of gluteus medius muscle. It originates from dorsal ilium inferior to iliac crest from posterior gluteal line to anterior gluteal line and inserts into lateral and superior aspect of greater trochanter of femur. Gluteus medius forms the middle layer of gluteal muscles, completely covering gluteus minimus. Caudal portion of gluteus medius tendon is close to piriformis muscle, which runs from sacrum to greater trochanter. Nerve supply is by superior gluteal nerve. Blood supply is via superior gluteal artery. Gluteus medius is a powerful abductor of hip. Lateral approach (Hardinge approach) is preferred in surgery because the chances of hip dislocation is less. There are situations where superior gluteal nerve may be injured due to watson jones or lateral approach to the hip. The superior gluteal nerve lies approximately 4 cm above the tip of the greater trochanter. Injury to the muscle may sometimes be mistaken for trochanteric bursitis. MRI is needed to check for rupture. If gluteus medius is weak, patient will have trendelenburg gait. Posterolateral disc herniation between L4 and L 5 will affect L5 nerve root and can cause weakness of gluteus medius and Trendelenburg Gait