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Muscular System

Organization of Muscles

What are some examples of muscles named for size?

Early anatomists often included in the name of a muscle something about its size, including length. If a muscle were long, its name would likely include the term longus. Muscles that were large would have the term maximus (Latin for “largest” or “greatest”) such as gluteus maximus. Other terms related to size include brevis (Latin for “short”), major (Latin for “larger”), and minor (Latin for “smaller”).