Attaching the elastic muscle cords

If you have a basic or full knee kit model, your kit comes with elastic muscle cords ("muscles"). Color-coded by compartment with removable labels, these elastic cords shorten and lengthen as you simulate various knee motions, enabling you to see which muscles shorten and which muscles lengthen during a particular motion. If you have the basic knee model, you'll have four elastic muscle cords, each representing one of the quadriceps muscles.

Photo of basic model with all muscles

If you have a full knee model, you'll have all of the muscles between the superior and inferior cross-section plates, except articularis genu and fibularis tertius.

Photo of full model with all muscles

Muscle color and labeling scheme

The muscles of your knee kit follow a consistent color and labeling scheme to help you easily identify each muscle, its attachment sites, and its corresponding compartment.

The muscles are color-coded by compartment

The human lower limb muscles are organized into fascial compartments: three in the thigh and four in the leg. The muscles in your knee kit are color-coded to match their corresponding compartment. The table below lists the color for each compartment.

 

Muscle compartment color coding
Thigh	Anterior:	Yellow
	Posterior:	Blue
	Medial:	Red
Leg	Lateral:	Black
	Medial:	White
	Superficial posterior:	Green
	Deep posterior:	Orange

You can also refer to your kit's Parts Plates: the background color for each muscle section corresponds to the compartment.

Photo of plate, caption explaining color backgrounds

There is one elastic muscle cord in your kit that bridges two compartments: the cord corresponding to the hamstring portion of the adductor magnus. This portion of the adductor magnus muscle is generally considered part of the posterior compartment of the thigh (with the hamstrings) whereas the rest of the adductor magnus is considered part of the medial compartment of the thigh (with the adductors). The cord has both blue and red components to reflect this dual designation.

Every muscle in your kit has a unique 3-letter abbreviation

Your knee kit uses a unique 3-letter abbreviation for each muscle where it is not possible to print the full name (e.g., on the clip-on labels, bone surface). You won't see these abbreviations elsewhere- these abbreviations were developed specifically for this kit as there is no standard set of abbreviations for the muscles of the human body (presumably to avoid ambiguity in the practice of medicine). The table below lists the 3-letter abbreviation for each muscle in your kit. Also included in this list is the iliotibial tract/band, a structure that is part tendon, part ligament, and part muscle.

Muscle abbreviations
ALO	Adductor longus
AMA	Adductor magnus
BFE	Biceps femoris
EDL	Extensor digitorum longus
EHL	Extensor hallucis longus
FDL	Flexor digitorum longus
FHL	Flexor hallucis longus
FIL	Fibularis longus
GAL	Gastrocnemius,Gastrocnemius (lateral head ofhead)
GAM	Gastrocnemius,Gastrocnemius (medial head ofhead)
GRA	Gracilis
ITT	Iliotibial tract
PLA	Plantaris
POP	Popliteus
REF	Rectus femoris
SAR	Sartorius
SEM	Semimembranosus
SET	Semitendinosus
SOL	Soleus
TIA	Tibialis anterior
TIP	Tibialis posterior
VAI	Vastus intermedius
VAL	Vastus lateralis
VAM	Vastus medialis

You can also refer to your kit's Parts Plates: the "docking site" for each muscle on the Part Plate includes the muscle's full name and abbreviation.

Photo of plate, perhaps zoomed in to show name of muscle and its abbreviation

Labels tell you where to attach the muscles

Each attachment site has a letter. Muscle labels have two letters, one for each end.