vastus

[vas-tuhs]

noun

Anatomy.

plural

vasti 

1. any of several muscles in the front part of the thigh constituting part of the quadriceps muscle, the action of which assists in extending the leg.

Word History and Origins

Origin of vastus¹

< Latin: vast

Example Sentences

They also took a small biopsy of each participant’s vastus lateralis muscle, which stretches down the outside of the thigh.

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Ariza didn’t slide right into the top unit simply because Otto Porter Jr. remains out with a Grade II strain of the vastus medialis in his right thigh.

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On Monday, Porter, who has missed the last three games with what the team has described as a right knee contusion, underwent an MRI exam that revealed a Grade II strain of the vastus medialis, part of the quadriceps muscle group that extends to the knee.

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The vastus medialis oblique, the teardrop-shaped muscle just above the knee that is part of the quadriceps, sometimes bulges more on the right because of the steady outward push of the right leg as a skater strides through turns.

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Any discussion comes with caveats, he says, because of limited available data. "The theoretical observation, supported by three very small studies in both adults and children, is that the most rapid-acting administration of epinephrine is through the mid-thigh into the muscle called the vastus lateralis," he says.

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