What is the sartorius muscle and what are its actions that lead to the "sitting position of a tailor"?

Here's what the muscle does:

• Flexes both the hip and the knee joints: This means it bends the leg at the hip (bringing the thigh closer to the torso) and also bends the leg at the knee (bringing the heel closer to the buttock).
• Adducts the thigh: This means it moves the thigh towards the midline of the body.
• Rotates the thigh laterally: This means it turns the thigh outwards, away from the body's center.

When all these actions happen together, they bring the lower limb into the "sitting position of a tailor." This is a cross-legged position where the knees are bent, and the thighs are rotated outwards, often seen when tailors sit to work or in the "palthi-position" adopted by some Indian Hindus during meals. The muscle responsible for these actions is the sartorius muscle, named after the Latin word "sartor" for tailor.