Opponens Pollicis

Educational draft · anatomical review pendingSources checked 21 October 2026. Prepared with AI assistance; not yet reviewed by a qualified anatomist. Not for diagnosis or treatment.

Region: Thenar compartment
Model side: Right
Source mesh: FJ1501
Coverage: Single source mesh

Locate the muscle

Opponens pollicis occupies the deep part of the thenar compartment.

Sources: TTUHSC El Paso · hand tables · BodyParts3D · source index

Attachment overview

Its proximal attachments include the trapezium and flexor retinaculum; distally it reaches the first metacarpal shaft.

Sources: TTUHSC El Paso · hand tables

What does it do?

It rotates the first metacarpal during thumb opposition.

Sources: TTUHSC El Paso · hand tables

Nerve connection

The recurrent median nerve supplies the thenar group in the basic anatomy table. Nerves are not modeled here.

Sources: TTUHSC El Paso · hand tables

Read the model

Explore opponens pollicis in 3D

Inspect the selected mesh. Start isolated. Rotate the view to inspect its outline; the display color is illustrative.
Restore the hand. Choose Show context, then Fade others. Compare the selected muscle with the thumb bones without interpreting mesh overlaps as attachment footprints.
Compare a landmark. Open the neighboring bone to study it separately, then return to the hand overview. Wrist & hand →

What this model can—and cannot—show

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

The hand study contains 27 bones, three thenar parts, three hypothenar muscles, two interosseous group meshes, one lumbrical group mesh, two adductor pollicis heads and six forearm muscle–tendon meshes. Other intrinsic muscles, the deep head of flexor pollicis brevis, nerves, vessels, ligaments and separate attachment footprints are not loaded.

Original source coordinates and triangulated surfaces are retained. This is a static surface model, not muscle contraction, a complete dissection or a clinical planning tool.

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.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso — Hand anatomy tables
Thenar-compartment and muscle entries: a brief independently worded attachment/action summary, not a complete variation or head-specific nerve map.
BodyParts3D / DBCLS — IS-A source identification
Original side-specific FMA/OBJ mapping; the flexor mesh is explicitly the superficial head. Geometry attribution remains visible in the viewer.

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

About this model

BodyParts3D identifies this right-sided mesh as opponens pollicis. Its source identifiers are FMA37390 and FJ1501. Colors and lighting are illustrative, not tissue textures.

Read the hand bone-group overview or open the whole upper-limb model. The hand close-up includes three thenar parts, three hypothenar muscles, two interosseous group meshes, one lumbrical group mesh, two adductor pollicis heads and six forearm muscle–tendon models, but not the other intrinsic hand muscles or complete soft tissues, accessory bones or a joint-motion simulation.