- Model side
- Right
- Main ankle action
- Plantar flexion
- Knee relationship
- Does not cross the knee
- Motor nerve
- Tibial nerve
Identify soleus
Soleus lies beneath gastrocnemius but still belongs to the superficial posterior muscle group of the leg.
A deeper position relative to gastrocnemius does not place soleus in the deep posterior compartment.
Sources: OpenStax · Lower-leg anatomy tables
Principal attachments and heel connection
It attaches proximally to the back of the fibular head and upper shaft, and to the tibial soleal line.
Distally, gastrocnemius and soleus reach the calcaneus through the calcaneal (Achilles) tendon.
Here, tendon-colored boundaries and separate tendon layers are not modeled. The text describes anatomy beyond the selectable surface.
Sources: Lower-leg anatomy tables
Ankle action and the knee
Soleus produces ankle plantar flexion. It does not cross the knee and is not a direct knee flexor.
Plantar flexion points the foot downward at the ankle. This static viewer does not animate the movement or predict strength, tendon load or range of motion.
Sources: Lower-leg anatomy tables · OpenStax
Innervation
The tibial nerve supplies the muscle. Its branches and the supplying blood vessels are not present in the current model.
Sources: Lower-leg anatomy tables
Read the model
Explore right soleus in 3D
- Orient the selected structure. Inspect it in isolation from Back. Restore context to see how gastrocnemius can cover its surface; Isolate reveals it again.
- Restore this side. Show context restores the existing 31 bones and 21 muscle parts in this leg. Select the calcaneus to inspect the heel; the Achilles tendon is not a separate selectable item.
- Compare the calf layers. The regional lower-leg close-up omits the femur and foot bones, including the heel. This full-leg structure page includes those bones when context is restored. Right calf guides →
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.
- Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso — Hip, posterior thigh and leg anatomy tables
Gastrocnemius and soleus rows: principal attachments, actions and tibial nerve supply. Introductory summaries, not exhaustive attachment maps.
- OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e — Appendicular muscles of the pelvic girdle and lower limbs
Superficial posterior calf group and the relationship between gastrocnemius and soleus. No textbook text or images are reproduced.
3D geometry and its separate license are credited beneath the viewer. References do not imply endorsement of this site.