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Meet Your Abs, the Abdominal Muscles

By Marguerite Ogle, About.com

Updated: September 17, 2009

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

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External Obliques

abdominal muscles

abs - external obliques

Gray's Anatomy, WickimediaCommons

The external obliques form a wide band of muscle that runs down, along a diagonal, from ribs 5 - 12 to attach to ligaments near the top of the hip bones.

The external obliques are prime movers when it comes to side-bending and rotating the pelvis opposite the ribcage. They also help with compression and forward bending of the abdomen.
Next: the internal obliques.

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