bicep – the muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and elbow

Note: The bicep muscle is used to bend the arm.

To remember the meaning of bicep, use the following mnemonic:

Buy a septic (bicep) tank and lift it by bending one arm.

The bicep is a prominent muscle located at the front of the upper arm that gets its name from having two heads (bi=two ceps= head). The two heads originate from different points on the scapula (shoulder blade) and merge to form a single muscle belly that inserts into the radius bone in the forearm via the biceps tendon. The primary functions of the bicep include flexion of the elbow (bending the arm), supination of the forearm (rotating the palm upward) and assisting in flexion of the shoulder. The bicep works as an antagonist to the triceps muscle, meaning when the bicep contracts to bend the arm, the triceps relaxes, and vice versa for straightening the arm. This muscle is easily visible. making it a common example used to demonstrate muscle contraction and the concept of antagonistic muscle pairs.