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Opponens digiti minimi
Muscle parts
None
Latin name
Musculus opponens digiti minimi
Latin muscle parts
None
Group
Hand muscle – hypothenar group
Etymology
In English, this muscle’s name is the muscle that places the little finger on the opposite side of the hand. The word opponens comes from the Latin opponere meaning “to oppose,” which in turn comes from the Latin terms ob meaning “against” and ponere meaning “to place.” The term digiti is from the Latin digitus, which originally meant the “pointing thing,” a term that is similar to the Sanskrit word “dic” meaning to show or point out. Because we point with our fingers the term was applied to the fingers and then the toes. The term minimus is Latin for “least or smallest.” Its use in this instance is in reference to the fact that the muscle attaches to the smallest finger of the hand.
Origin
Convex surface of the hook of the hamate bone and the flexor retinaculum.
Insertion
Anterior surface and the ulnar border of length of the 5th metacarpal bone.
Action
Flexes the carpometacarpal joint of the little finger and rotates (opposes) this joint towards the thumb.
Nerve supply
Ulnar nerve (C8 and T1)
Blood supply
From proximal to distal, the muscle is supplied by the deep palmar branch of the ulnar artery and from small muscular branches from the ulnar side of the deep palmar arch.
