{"schemaVersion":1,"id":"en-pathway-body-map-path","type":"pathway","pillar":"body","locale":"en","translationGroupId":"pathway-body-map-path","slugPath":"pathways/locate-and-name","title":"Locate and name","shortTitle":"Locate and name","summary":"A six-step entry route for anyone unsure where to start. It begins with the whole body, works down to a muscle, then to the joint it crosses, and back up to the movement.","level":"beginner","estimatedMinutes":45,"synonyms":["anatomy for beginners","where to start","body map","locating a muscle","anatomy pathway"],"blocks":[{"id":"b1","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"The difficulty when opening an anatomy site is not finding information: it is knowing where to put it. An isolated muscle name is useless until you know where it sits, what it crosses, and what it produces."}]},{"id":"b2","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"This pathway offers the reverse order of a textbook. It starts with the overview, works down to a part, then to what that part moves, and finally back up to the complete movement."}]},{"id":"b3","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"What this pathway lets you understand","anchor":"what-this-pathway-lets-you-understand"},{"id":"b4","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"By the end, three things should be in place. Where the major muscle groups sit on a standing body. What a muscle crosses, and why that determines its action. And why a joint is not described as a motor but as a trade-off."}]},{"id":"b5","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"This is not an anatomy course. It is a way of filing what you read next."}]},{"id":"b6","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Level, prerequisites and reading time","anchor":"level-prerequisites-and-reading-time"},{"id":"b7","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"No prerequisites. The pathway is written for a first reading, and each page stands on its own — the order proposed helps, it is not compulsory."}]},{"id":"b8","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"Allow around forty-five minutes for the whole thing, taking time to look at the scenes. Each page states its own reading time."}]},{"id":"b9","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"The steps of the pathway","anchor":"the-steps-of-the-pathway"},{"id":"b10","type":"stepList","title":"The six steps, in order","steps":[{"id":"e1","title":"See the whole body","summary":"Open the body map and locate the twelve priority muscle groups, in anterior then posterior view.","estimatedMinutes":5},{"id":"e2","title":"A surface muscle","summary":"The quadriceps: four heads, a single insertion, and one head that crosses two joints instead of one.","targetId":"en-anatomy-quadriceps","estimatedMinutes":8},{"id":"e3","title":"A muscle you cannot see","summary":"The iliopsoas, the only muscle linking the spine to the femur. It shows that what matters is not always visible.","targetId":"en-anatomy-iliopsoas","estimatedMinutes":9},{"id":"e4","title":"The joint they cross","summary":"The hip: a sphere set deep in its socket, locked by three ligaments that tighten when standing.","targetId":"en-anatomy-hip-joint","estimatedMinutes":8},{"id":"e5","title":"The joint next door","summary":"The knee, exactly the reverse: two poorly matched surfaces, held by menisci and ligaments.","targetId":"en-anatomy-knee-joint","estimatedMinutes":9},{"id":"e6","title":"The complete movement","summary":"The squat, where these parts work together: phases, joints moved, and how the work is shared.","targetId":"en-movement-squat","estimatedMinutes":8}]},{"id":"b11","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"What to take away","anchor":"what-to-take-away"},{"id":"b12","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"A muscle is described by what it links. Its two attachments and the joints it crosses are enough to predict its action: that is why the pages in the Body pillar always begin with origin and insertion rather than with function."}]},{"id":"b13","type":"evidence","level":"established","statement":"A muscle's action follows from its path relative to the joints it crosses.","detail":"This is the basic principle of functional anatomy, used the same way by descriptive anatomy and by kinesiology. It applies well to muscles with a simple path; for broad sheets, whose fibres do not all share one orientation, the action varies with the part considered and with the joint angle.","referenceIds":["standring2020","neumann2016"]},{"id":"b14","type":"paragraph","content":[{"kind":"text","value":"A joint is not described the same way. There is no \"function\" to extract, but a trade-off to read: the more a joint is fitted together, the better it holds and the less it moves. The "},{"kind":"link","value":"hip","href":"/en/body/joints/hip","external":false},{"kind":"text","value":" and the "},{"kind":"link","value":"knee","href":"/en/body/joints/knee","external":false},{"kind":"text","value":" place that slider at two opposite points, and the "},{"kind":"link","value":"shoulder","href":"/en/body/joints/shoulder","external":false},{"kind":"text","value":" pushes it to the far end."}]},{"id":"b15","type":"callout","tone":"insight","title":"The thread to keep","content":[[{"kind":"text","value":"A muscle produces. A joint permits and limits. A movement is the meeting of the two, under an external constraint."}],[{"kind":"text","value":"The site's three pillars are built on that distinction: Body describes the parts, Movement describes their coordination, Adaptation describes what changes when you repeat."}]]},{"id":"b16","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Checking what stuck","anchor":"checking-what-stuck"},{"id":"b17","type":"quiz","title":"Check my understanding","questions":[{"id":"q1","prompt":"Why does rectus femoris, a head of the quadriceps, also act on the hip?","choices":[{"id":"q1c1","label":"Because it crosses two joints","correct":true,"explanation":"Its origin is on the pelvis and its insertion below the knee: it therefore crosses the hip and the knee, and acts on both."},{"id":"q1c2","label":"Because it is the most powerful of the four heads","correct":false,"explanation":"Power does not determine which joints are crossed. The path decides the action."},{"id":"q1c3","label":"Because it has a different nerve supply","correct":false,"explanation":"All four heads share the femoral nerve. Nerve supply changes nothing about the path."}]},{"id":"q2","prompt":"What distinguishes the hip from the knee in terms of stability?","choices":[{"id":"q2c1","label":"The hip holds by its shape, the knee by its soft tissue","correct":true,"explanation":"The femoral head sits deep in the socket; the knee rests rounded condyles on an almost flat plateau."},{"id":"q2c2","label":"The knee has more ligaments, so it holds better","correct":false,"explanation":"The number of ligaments does not measure stability. Here they make up for a lack of fit."},{"id":"q2c3","label":"Both hold in the same way","correct":false,"explanation":"They represent two opposite trade-offs between mobility and restraint."}]},{"id":"q3","prompt":"What can you conclude from pain located where a ligament described on this site sits?","choices":[{"id":"q3c1","label":"Nothing: only an examination can say","correct":true,"explanation":"Knowing the anatomy of a structure does not tell you whether it is involved. The pages say so throughout."},{"id":"q3c2","label":"That this ligament is injured","correct":false,"explanation":"Where pain is felt does not identify the structure responsible."},{"id":"q3c3","label":"That all activity should stop","correct":false,"explanation":"Body Lab gives no advice on conduct; pain that persists belongs to a health professional."}]}]},{"id":"b18","type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Sources","anchor":"sources"},{"id":"b19","type":"sourceList","title":"Sources for this pathway","referenceIds":["standring2020","neumann2016"]},{"id":"b20","type":"relatedContent","title":"Read next","targetIds":["en-pathway-movement-path","en-anatomy-shoulder-joint","en-anatomy-rotator-cuff"]},{"id":"b21","type":"shapierAction","actionId":"exercises-squat","label":"Train the squat","description":"Learning the squat step by step happens in Shapier; Body Lab only explains which parts this movement brings together.","webTarget":"https://shapier.app/en/exercises/squat","appTarget":"shapier://exercises/squat"}],"relations":[{"type":"next-step","targetId":"en-pathway-movement-path"},{"type":"explains","targetId":"en-anatomy-quadriceps"},{"type":"prerequisite","targetId":"en-anatomy-hip-joint"},{"type":"shapier-action","targetId":"exercises-by-muscle"}],"authors":["equipe-editoriale-shapier"],"reviewers":["Thanh Chau"],"references":[{"id":"standring2020","authors":"Standring S","year":2020,"title":"Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice, 42nd edition","source":"Elsevier","kind":"book","url":"https://shop.elsevier.com/books/grays-anatomy/standring/978-0-7020-7705-0"},{"id":"neumann2016","authors":"Neumann DA","year":2016,"title":"Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System: Foundations for Rehabilitation, 3rd edition","source":"Elsevier","kind":"book","url":"https://shop.elsevier.com/books/kinesiology-of-the-musculoskeletal-system/neumann/978-0-323-28753-1"}],"review":{"publishedAt":"2026-08-02","reviewedAt":"2026-08-02","reviewDueAt":"2027-08-02","evidenceLevel":"established"},"limitations":["The pathway describes a reference anatomy, the one found in textbooks: muscle size, attachment orientation and joint shape vary between people.","No step allows an individual situation to be assessed: the pathway is for locating and naming, not for judging a pain or an execution.","The 3D models show simplified volumes and represent neither cartilage, nor fascia, nor nerves."],"seo":{"title":"Locate and name — an entry pathway into body anatomy","description":"A guided six-step route for beginners: from the whole body to a muscle, from muscle to joint, then back to the movement. 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