Fatty Gastrocnemius Muscle

NewsBot · May 15, 2022

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Fatty Gastrocnemius Muscle: A Case Report
Siyu Liu
FASEB J. 2022 May;36 Suppl 1

Background: The gastrocnemius muscle is a superficial two-headed muscle located in the posterior compartment of the leg, consisting of two heads: medial head and lateral head. The gastrocnemius muscle plays a significant role in our daily activities because its function is plantar flexing the foot at the ankle joint and flexing the leg at the knee joint. We report a very rare case of fatty gastrocnemius.

Methods: The abnormal gastrocnemius muscles were encountered during the dissection of the lower limbs of a 63-year-old female cadaver. For histological examination, muscular samples were sectioned from the top, middle, and bottom of two heads of both legs. A total of six muscular slides, nerve slides, artery slides were all stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stains. Slides were analyzed using light microscopy.

Result: For anatomy analysis, the medial heads of both gastrocnemius muscles of the lower limbs are completely infiltrated by adipose tissue. But the lateral heads of gastrocnemius muscles on both sides are almost healthy. Only the bottom of the lateral head of gastrocnemius muscles shows adipose tissue, but the middle and topdo not. Additionally, the medial heads connect to the tibial nerve and arteries normally. No abnormal adipose tissue was observed in other muscles throughout the body. For histological analysis, the entire medial heads and the bottom lateral heads are replaced by adipose cells, but the middle and top of the lateral heads are healthy muscle cells. No abnormalities or pathologies were observed in the nerves or arteries.

Conclusion: Both medial heads of the gastrocnemius muscle appear to have become adipose tissue. While no underlying cause was identified it appears the pathology was spreading to the medial head.
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NewsBot · May 15, 2022

Isolated fatty infiltration of the gastrocnemius medial head, a cadaveric case study
Karyne N.RabeyabhLalithSatkunamachChristine A.WebberadhJennifer C.Hockingaefgh
Source

Gastrocnemius is a superficial calf muscle with two muscular heads that contribute fibres to the Achilles tendon. While gastrocnemius functions during movement of the knee and ankle joints, the muscle is of particular clinical interest as a target for treatments to alleviate lower limb spasticity and pain. Here, we describe abnormal calf musculature discovered incidentally during cadaveric dissection in an anatomy teaching laboratory. In particular, the medial head of the gastrocnemius in the left leg exhibited almost complete replacement by adipose tissue, while the lateral head and soleus muscles were unaffected. On the right side, the medial head again showed fatty infiltration, but only in the distal part of an otherwise substantial muscle belly. While the nerve to the left medial head was intact, a cyst was discovered in the sacral vertebral column. The full, but isolated replacement of a muscle belly by fat is a highly unusual finding. Potentially, muscle degeneration followed by fatty infiltration was secondary to compression of the S1, S2 nerve roots and denervation of the muscle, but other possible causes are reviewed in the discussion.
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