Anterior compartment of the forearm

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The forearm is divided into anterior and posterior compartments. The muscles of the anterior compartment, also known as the flexor-pronator muscles, are divided into two groups:

• Superficial group: Pronator teres, flexor carpi radialis, flexor carpi ulnaris, palmaris longus and flexor digitorum superficialis muscles.
  
• Deep group: Flexor digitorum profundus, flexor pollicis longus and pronator quadratus muscles.

These muscles act on different joints of the upper limb, enabling movements of the forearm, hand and fingers. Most of the anterior muscles are innervated by the branches of  the median nerve. The exceptions are the flexor carpi ulnaris, which is supplied by the ulnar nerve, and the flexor digitorum profundus, which is innervated by branches of both the median and the ulnar nerves.

The following video tutorials will help you learn the anatomy of the anterior muscles of the forearm.

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Review each anterior muscle of the forearm individually by browsing through our atlas gallery:

Summary