Sartorius

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sartorius \Sar*to"ri*us\, n. [NL., fr. L. sartor a patcher,
     tailor, fr. sarcire, sartum, to patch, mend.] (Anat.)
     A muscle of the thigh, called the tailor's muscle, which
     arises from the hip bone and is inserted just below the knee.
     So named because its contraction was supposed to produce the
     position of the legs assumed by the tailor in sitting.


     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  sartorius
       n : a muscle in the thigh that helps to rotate the leg into the
           sitting position assumed by a tailor; the longest muscle
           in the human body [syn: {sartorius muscle}, {musculus
           sartorius}]
       [also: {sartorii} (pl)]