Definition of "gastrocnemius" [gas•troc•ne•mi•us]

• The largest, most prominent muscle of the calf of the leg, the action of which extends the foot and bends the knee. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Compared with a control group of women who usually wore flat shoes, the stiletto wearers 'Achilles tendons were about 20% stiffer, and the fibers of the gastrocnemius muscle in their calves were about 12% shorter."
• "Works upper and lower legs quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius"
• "The symptoms of "tennis leg" most commonly results from an acute rupture of the Achilles tendon and less frequently, by a tear in one of the calf muscles, the gastrocnemius muscle, or the plantaris tendon."