quadriceps
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quad·ri·ceps

noun \ˈkwä-drə-ˌseps\
plural quadriceps also quadriceps·es

Definition of QUADRICEPS

: the greater extensor muscle of the front of the thigh that is divided into four parts

Examples of QUADRICEPS

  1. He felt a pain in his right quadriceps.

Origin of QUADRICEPS

New Latin quadricipit-, quadriceps, from quadri- + -cipit-, -ceps (as in bicipit-, biceps biceps)
First Known Use: 1840

quad·ri·ceps

noun \ˈkwäd-rə-ˌseps\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of QUADRICEPS

: a large extensor muscle of the front of the thigh divided above into four parts which include the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, and vastus medialis, and which unite in a single tendon to enclose the patella as a sesamoid bone at the knee and insert as the patellar ligament into the tuberosity of the tibia—called also quadriceps femoris, quadriceps muscle

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