ArticleSurgical and radiologic anatomy : SRA2025
Piriformis muscle with three bellies and a sacrotuberous-ligament belly: cadaveric case report and belly-count classification proposal.
Article in Surgical and radiologic anatomy : SRA, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe piriformis muscle (PM) contributes to hip stabilisation and external rotation. Given its proximity to the sciatic nerve, PM variability is clinically relevant within deep gluteal syndrome, which encompasses non-discogenic entrapments in the subgluteal space. Although numerous variants have been described, the number of discrete bellies is inconsistently reported across studies. CASE REPORT: During routine dissection of a 79-year-old female cadaver, we identified a three-bellied PM. The superior belly arose from the gluteal surface of the ilium near the greater sciatic notch, the middle belly from the anterior sacrum (S2–S4), and the inferior belly from the sacrotuberous ligament. All three bellies converged into a single tendon inserting on the superior surface of the greater trochanter. Morphometry demonstrated distinct dimensions for each belly and for the common tendon. The contralateral side displayed a typical single-bellied PM.
conclusionThis report documents a three-bellied configuration of the PM. To standardise concise reporting, we propose a belly-count scheme with four categories: Type 0 absent, Type 1 single belly, Type 2 double belly, and Type 3 multiple bellies (≥ 3). Both the present case and the triple-bellied configuration reported by Koziol et al. fall under Type 3. This scheme is reporting-oriented and preliminary and does not imply prevalence or clinical risk without confirmation in larger series.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.