中間広筋 （ ちゅうかんこうきん、英：vastus intermedius muscle ）
The vastus intermedius (/ˈvæstəs ˌɪntərˈmiːdiəs/) (Cruraeus) arises from the front and lateral surfaces of the body of the femur in its upper two-thirds, sitting under the rectus femoris muscle and from the lower part of the lateral intermuscular septum. Its fibers end in a superficial aponeurosis, which forms the deep part of the quadriceps femoris tendon.
The vastus medialis and vastus intermedius appear to be inseparably united, but when the rectus femoris has been reflected during dissection a narrow interval will be observed extending upward from the medial border of the patella between the two muscles, and the separation may be continued as far as the lower part of the intertrochanteric line, where, however, the two muscles are frequently continuous.
Due to being the deeper middle-most of the quadriceps muscle group, the intermedius is the most difficult to stretch once maximum knee flexion is attained. It cannot be further stretched by hip extension as the rectus femoris can, nor is it accessible to manipulate with massage therapy to stretch the fibres sideways as the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis are.
【 語 句 】
・body of the femur：大腿骨体 ・rectus femoris muscle：大腿直筋 ・lateral intermuscular septum：外側筋間中隔 ・aponeurosis：腱膜 ・quadriceps femoris tendon：大腿四頭筋（の共通）腱 ・vastus medialis：中間広筋 ・inseparably：密接に ・ intertrochanteric line：転子間線 ・quadriceps muscle group：大腿四頭筋群 ・vastus lateralis：外側広筋 ・accessible：入手しやすい、理解しやすい ・manipulate：巧みに操作する
