Rectus femoris

Written by Dr Sheila Strover on March 14, 2025

The rectus femoris muscle is one of the four heads of the quadriceps muscle.

rectus femoris component of the quadriceps musclequadriceps muscles

Spanning two joints

The rectus femoris is the strongest of the quadriceps heads, and spans both hip and knee joint (because the patella or kneecap is an intrinsic part of the tendon, so the tendon really reaches to the tibia).