The short thumb extensor

Extensor pollicis brevis · musculus extensor pollicis brevis

A forearm muscle that straightens the base of your thumb.

What it does

This muscle runs to the base of the thumb's first phalanx and straightens the thumb at its knuckle. With its neighbour it forms one edge of the "anatomical snuffbox", the hollow you see at the base of the thumb when you stick it out.

Nearby

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Sources

Drafted with AI help; awaiting a human fact-check against these sources.

Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.

3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.