The coccygeus muscle or ischiococcygeus is a

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of mus ...

of the pelvic floor, located posterior to

levator ani The levator ani is a broad, thin muscle group, situated on either side of the pelvis. It is formed from three muscle components: the pubococcygeus, the iliococcygeus, and the puborectalis. It is attached to the inner surface of each side of the ...

and anterior to the

sacrospinous ligament The sacrospinous ligament (small or anterior sacrosciatic ligament) is a thin, triangular ligament in the human pelvis. The base of the ligament is attached to the outer edge of the sacrum and coccyx, and the tip of the ligament attaches to the s ...

Structure

The coccygeus muscle is posterior to

and anterior to the

in the pelvic floor. It is a triangular plane of muscular and tendinous fibers. It arises by its apex from the spine of the

ischium The ischium () form ...

and

. It is inserted by its base into the margin of the

coccyx The coccyx ( : coccyges or coccyxes), commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the vertebral column in all apes, and analogous structures in certain other mammals such as horses. In tailless primates (e.g. humans and othe ...

and into the side of the lowest piece of the

sacrum The sacrum (plural: ''sacra'' or ''sacrums''), in human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situates at the upper, back part o ...

. In combination with the

, it forms the pelvic diaphragm. The

pudendal nerve The pudendal nerve is the main nerve of the perineum. It carries sensation from the external genitalia of both sexes and the skin around the anus and perineum, as well as the motor supply to various pelvic muscles, including the male or fem ...

runs between the coccygeus muscle and the piriformis muscle, superficial to the coccygeus muscle.

Nerve supply

The coccygeus muscle is innervated by the

, which runs between it and the piriformis muscle.

Function

The coccygeus muscle assists the

and piriformis muscle in closing in the back part of the outlet of the

pelvis The pelvis (plural pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis, or pelvic skeleton). The ...

. This helps to support the

vagina In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

, and the other pelvic organs.

References

External links

* - "The Female Pelvis: Muscles of the Pelvic Diaphragm" * * (, )
Coccyx pain, tailbone pain, coccydynia
(Peer-reviewed medical chapter, available free online at eMedicine) {{Authority control Muscles of the torso

Structure

Nerve supply

Function

See also

References

External links