Rectus Abdominis
Function
The rectus abdominis muscle does the following:
- Flexes the spine.This means that the rectus abdominis muscle bends the spine to the front (i.e. it moves the sternum down and forward towards the pelvis).
- Compresses the abdominal cavity.This means that the rectus abdominis muscle constricts the organs of the abdominal cavity and can increase intra-abdominal pressure (i.e. such as during a valsalva maneuver).
Common Name(s)
"abs," "abdominals," "six pack"
The muscular anatomy image shown here is in the public domain. It may have been modified by ShapeSense.com, but was originally acquired at the following address:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rectus_abdominis.png
