| The gluteal region is a more important anatomical and clinical concept than the buttock - the rounded, fat-filled elevation which forms only part of the gluteal region. The region itself extends upwards to the iliac crest of the hip bone and forwards to the level of the anterior iliac spines. It is limited posteriorly by the gluteal crease, coinciding with the undersurface of the buttock. The gluteal region contains the muscles gluteus maximus (an extensor of the hip) and gluteus medius and gluteus minimus (abductors of the hip) as well as a number of smaller deep muscles. |
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| Intra-muscular injections are often given "into the buttock", but it must be clearly understood that the sciatic nerve would be at great risk from such a procedure if carried out literally. Instead, the injection is given further forward into the upper quadrant of the gluteal region. | 
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