Left flexor digitorum longus: Attachments, Function & 3D

Educational draft · anatomical review pendingSources checked 19 October 2026. Prepared with AI assistance; not yet reviewed by a qualified anatomist. Not for diagnosis or treatment.

Model side: Left
Compartment: Deep posterior leg
Study focus: Flexion of toes 2–5
Motor nerve: Tibial nerve

Identify flexor digitorum longus

The long posterior flexor directed toward toes two through five.

Compare it with flexor hallucis longus for the great toe. The second-toe bone linked below is one example among four distal destinations.

Sources: Posterior-leg anatomy tables · OpenStax

Toward the inner ankle and sole

From the posterior tibia, its tendons reach the bases of the distal phalanges of toes two through five.

These tendons pass behind the medial malleolus under the flexor retinaculum. The retaining band, accompanying nerves and vessels are absent here: the viewer does not show a complete tarsal tunnel.

Sources: Posterior-leg anatomy tables · Leg & foot lab manual

Foot and toe actions

It flexes toes two through five and assists plantar flexion.

Moving the foot at the ankle and bending a toe are different actions. This viewer retains the source pose; rotating the camera does not demonstrate either movement or estimate muscle force.

Sources: Posterior-leg anatomy tables · OpenStax

Innervation

The tibial nerve supplies these deep posterior muscles. Its course, branches and the regional blood vessels are not included in the current model.

Sources: Posterior-leg anatomy tables

Read the model

Explore left flexor digitorum longus in 3D

Inspect the deep surface. Use Back and Isolate to inspect the belly and distal branching surface. Show context lets you compare its direction with the lesser toes on the same foot.
Restore the surrounding structures. Show context restores 31 bones and 21 muscle parts on this side, including the foot bones. Surrounding surfaces may hide the selection; Isolate reveals it again.
Compare the three guides. The regional lower-leg close-up contains the tibia, fibula and thirteen muscle parts but no foot bones. Use this full-leg structure page for the distal bone context. Left deep posterior guides →

What this model can—and cannot—show

BodyParts3D provides this left-sided surface model, not every anatomical variant. Colors distinguish structures; they are not tissue textures.

Individual tendon branches are not separately selectable. Intrinsic foot muscles and the detailed digital tendon sheaths are absent, so this is not the complete toe-flexor apparatus.

Tendon portions retain the muscle color. Flexor retinaculum, tendon sheaths, nerves, vessels and separate ligaments are absent. A gap between meshes is not a modeled anatomical canal.

These three guides cover selected muscles, not the entire deep posterior group; popliteus is not included in this reading block. Side-specific source meshes do not represent every anatomical variant.

A section tool is not available for this structure. The surface model does not reveal internal tissue architecture or represent a medical scan.

Sources and editorial status

This guide uses independently written explanations with links to the evidence behind them. Source checking and specialist anatomical review are separate steps; the latter is still pending.

TTUHSC El Paso — Hip, posterior thigh and leg anatomy tables
Principal origins, distal attachments, general actions and tibial nerve supply. Summaries are not exhaustive insertion maps.
TTUHSC El Paso — Anterior leg & foot lab manual
Medial ankle flexor tendons, flexor retinaculum and distal routes into the foot. Viewer instructions are original, not dissection instructions.
OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e — Appendicular muscles of the pelvic girdle and lower limbs
Deep posterior group and toe-flexor distinction. No textbook text or images reproduced.

3D geometry and its separate license are credited beneath the viewer. References do not imply endorsement of this site.

Left flexor digitorum longus