# What are the hamstrings called?

The back thigh muscles is called the hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus). Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as a group of three muscles on the back of the thigh.

## What it means

- A group of three muscles on the back of the thigh.
- Bend the knee and extend the hip.
- Their tendons form the cords you can feel behind the knee.

## Action steps

1. On the back of the thigh, between the buttock and the knee.
2. Arise mainly from the ischial tuberosity of the hip bone.
3. Insert on the tibia and fibula below the knee.

## Sources

- [Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (1918)](https://www.bartleby.com/107/)

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