Talk:Vastus Medialis

Is it a real muscle or a ghost?

For physiotherapist vastus medialis oblique (VMO) is a well known muscle. But some anatomist do not accept VMO as real muscle. The first paper I have seen was a letter to editor [ref needed]. In this letter it is clearly stated that VMO is not an independent muscle. It is a part of vastus medilis.

Recent years the topic is still unclear. You can find a list of articles below;

• Smith TO, Nichols R, Harle D, Donell ST. Do the vastus medialis obliquus and vastus medialis longus really exist? A systematic review. Clin Anat. 2009 Mar;22(2):183-99.
• Pattyn E, Verdonk P, Steyaert A, Vanden Bossche L, Van den Broecke W, Thijs Y, Witvrouw E. Vastus medialis obliquus atrophy: does it exist in patellofemoral pain syndrome? Am J Sports Med. 2011 Jul;39(7):1450-5. Epub 2011 Apr 12.
• Günal I, Araç S, Sahinoğlu K, Birvar K. The innervation of vastus medialis obliquus. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1992 Jul;74(4):624.
• Holt G, Nunn T, Allen RA, Forrester AW, Gregori A. Variation of the vastus medialis obliquus insertion and its relevance to minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty. 2008 Jun;23(4):600-4. Epub 2008 Mar 4.
• Lin YF, Lin JJ, Cheng CK, Lin DH, Jan MH. Association between sonographic morphology of vastus medialis obliquus and patellar alignment in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2008 Apr;38(4):196-202. Epub 2007 Nov 21

Orginal text from vastus medialis oblique page edited by Rafet Irmak

After doing some research on the topic, I have found that: though there are a few early scholarly articles which attempt to differentiate between a vastus medialis oblique and another distinct muscle (ie. "vastus medialis longus"), there seems to be general agreement in anatomy texts and among physiotherapists that the "vastus medialis oblique" is unanimous with the term "vastus medialis". So I think that this page should instead follow the typical muscle template as an anatomical page on the vastus medialis muscle. If needed, the editor can make a reference to the article mentioned by the original editor (see: Do the vastus medialis obliquus and vastus medialis longus really exist? A systematic review.) since it appears to be a contested and mostly undocumented area of research. This could possibly be added as a note in the Anatomy section or Resources section. If time permits, I will attempt to edit the page according to this criteria if others are in agreement and see the changes fit.

Orginal text from vastus medialis oblique talk page edited by Richard Benes