The Concise Book of Muscles, Fourth Edition

Price: $29.95 - $27.15
(as of Nov 24, 2025 16:56:36 UTC – Details)


The bestselling, comprehensive introduction to the anatomy of the muscular system—with over 500 drawings, detailed profiles for each muscle, and additional material.
This newly revised fourth edition of The Concise Book of Muscles is a comprehensive guide to the major muscle groups. Easy to use and fully illustrated with more than 500 drawings, this compact reference provides a complete profile for each muscle, clearly showing its origin, insertion, nerve supply, and action, the movements that use it, and, where appropriate, exercises that stretch and strengthen it.
The book’s distinctive quick-reference format shows students exactly how to locate and identify specific muscles, highlighting those that are heavily used and therefore subject to injury in a variety of sports and activities.
In this updated edition, each muscle chapter now includes detailed overviews of the gross anatomy of the body area to show:
• Bony landmarks
• Cross-sections of muscle layers
• Points of attachment
• Relevant nerve pathways
• Also included: quick-reference tables and new chapter on pelvic floor muscles
While designed for the student and beginning practitioner of anatomy, massage, bodywork, physical therapy, chiropractic medicine, physiotherapy, yoga, and Pilates or any other health-related field, The Concise Book of Muscles is equally useful for athletes and anyone interested in the workings of the human body.

From the Publisher

‘World-class strength coach Charles Poliquin introduced me to this outstanding book. It is the best anatomy book for students that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen them all. Get it.”

—Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Body

Anatomical terminology simply explained

Illustrated descriptions of the body’s planes of motion, anatomical movements, types of muscle contraction, the physiology of each muscle shape, an overview of the different types of synovial joint, and the roles of agonist, antagonist, and synergist muscles.

Detailed chapters on all of the eight major muscle groups

Scalp and face

Neck

Trunk

Pelvis and perineum

Shoulder and arm

Forearm and hand

Hip and thigh

Leg and foot

Each color-coded for ease of reference.

In-depth profiles of over 173 muscles

High quality illustrations of each muscle are accompanied by descriptions of the the origin, insertion, action, and nerve supply, as well as examples of how the muscle is used in functional movement and suggestions for strengthening and stretching.

Zooming out to see the bigger picture

Each chapter begins with the gross anatomy of each body area to help you not only learn but really understand how to apply the information, with guidance on locating and identifying each muscle and insights on those which are heavily used and more susceptible to injury.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ North Atlantic Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 2, 2018
Edition ‏ : ‎ 4th
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1623173388
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1623173388
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.74 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.31 x 0.6 x 10.73 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #71,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #47 in Health, Mind & Body Reference #47 in Exercise Injuries & Rehabilitation #54 in Medical Anatomy
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