Shadowing Practice: The Pelvic Floor Muscles, Explained | Corporis - Learn English Speaking with Video
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this video was sponsored by kenhub more on them at the end of the video hello and welcome my name is patrick and in this video i'll teach you some of my tips and tricks for remembering all of the skeletal muscles of the pelvis that you would see in an anatomy class and to make this lesson
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more manageable for beginners i'll present the list in smaller chunks of 4 to 8 muscles you can find a list of the sections and time stamps in the description below with that out of the way let's get into the muscles so this is going to be the shortest video in the muscle
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series and while there are only a few muscles to learn i made this one its own unit because i imagine the pelvic muscles slightly differently than the muscles of the arms and legs for instance like instead of a clear elbow flexion or spinal extension muscle you have muscles that support the
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pelvic floor or that promote blood flow during sexual arousal and that's really cool to me the pelvis has skeletal muscles that interact with the urinary digestive and reproductive systems which makes these muscles seem like magical and mysterious but at the end of the
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day there's still muscles and like most of the muscles we've seen before the name of the muscle usually tells us what the muscle does or where it is but since the pelvis is a big bone anatomists
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refer to certain parts of the pelvis by their bony landmarks so let's review while the whole thing is called the pelvis we refer to these big wings as the ilium or ilia if you're putting your hands on
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your hips you're not actually putting them on your hip joint you're putting them on your ilia in the front you have two pubic bones which are joined by a piece of soft tissue called the pubic symphysis
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posteriorly you have these hollowed-out bumps called the ischium colloquially i've heard these called the sits bones as well then this big centerpiece is the sacrum the base of your spinal
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column and hanging off the tip is one of the remnants of our evolution the ancestral tailbone called the coccyx once you know those bony landmarks you can start putting terms together
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so this joint is the sacroiliac joint since it's the meeting place between the sacrum and the ilium and that same strategy works for many of these muscles this first chunk of muscles
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is collectively called the levator annie group which counter-intuitively doesn't lift the anus necessarily it keeps your organs from falling out of your pelvis yes you have some connective tissue there but these muscles are the floor of the pelvis hence pelvic floor muscles the center
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piece is the pubococcygeus which connects the pubic bones in front with the coccyx in the back it forms like a hammock-esque muscle with some important cutouts for an anus and genitals here
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and here this little divot posteriorly isn't a cut out it's arched so that it can connect with more surface area on the bone hanging out within that muscle is the pubo rectalis which originates
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on the pubic bones and forms this structure called the puborectal sling around the rectum if you've heard about the squatty potty and how squatting makes it easier to poop the pipo rectalis is the muscle that supposedly puts a kink in the colon that's a whole other
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video though the last muscle in the levator annie group needs a bit of introduction now i've spent the last hour of video telling you about how intuitive these names are how if you just know
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the bony anatomy or directional terms and you're set but here with less than 10 muscles to go the iliococcygeus is the crack in the sidewalk that's tripping us up over the finish line
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it starts off intuitive it's easy to see where it inserts on the coccyx but its origin is this broad sheet of connective tissue called the internal obturator fascia not the ilium it's fine anatomy
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i'm not mad i'm just disappointed if we move on we'll see another important pelvic floor muscle the ischiococcygeus a long sheet of muscle that spans from each ischium to the coccyx in the
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center although fair warning some textbooks just call this muscle the coccygeus which
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i'm rapidly losing faith in traditional naming conventions for this group of muscles just do your best something else to keep in mind you'll almost always get quizzed on these muscles from a superior or top down view and from this angle you'll see some of the other hip muscles like the
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piriformis posteriorly and the obturator internus anteriorly so if possible identify what those muscles attach to because if they attach to the femur then they're not pelvic floor muscles and
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they won't have pubo or coccygeus in their names but this next group the perineal muscles requires the opposite perspective an inferior view also how do i put this if you're watching this in public at
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a coffee shop or something just be aware of who's looking over your shoulder because the images i'm about to show you are going to get a little spicy from this inferior view we can see some of the structure of the perineum the area between the genitals and anus and a few of the muscles in this
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area use the perennial region in their names for instance take a look at the superficial transverse perineui you already know superficial it's closer to the surface and you already know transverse
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it runs side to side instead of front to back the perineal points to its location between the urethra anteriorly and anus posteriorly deep to that is the deep transverse perineui with the
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same naming conventions also in the perennial area you can find muscles that plug into the genitals but have different presentations depending on what kind of plumbing we're working with the first the ischiocavernosus originates at the ischium and connects with the genitals if it's attached
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to a penis it inserts on the crust or crura of the penis the part that attaches to the ischial rami while the rest of the shaft mostly the corpus cavernosum dangles off for people with vaginas
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the ischiocavernosus actually inserts on the clitoris and remember the clitoris is much bigger than the small piece that you see on external diagrams as far as how to remember this muscle
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the ischio root is easy enough to remember but the cavernosus relates more to its function i'll explain during sexual arousal blood flows into the penis or clitoris enlarging either
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when the ischiocavernosus contracts it squishes blood towards the distal part of the genitals and compresses some of the veins that drain blood from the genitals which helps maintain an erection
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or the swelling of the clitoris and that's a fun fact that you can bring up if you're ever like in that situation but we still need to remember it for our exam i remember ischio cavernosus because it connects the ischium to caverns of blood hence ischiocavernosus another muscle in that same area
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is the bulbospongiosis which no is not a pokemon when it accompanies a vagina the pair of muscles runs from the pubic bone in front along the sides of the vagina around penises it circles the bulb
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of the penis which is close to the base i remember this one because it plugs into the spongy tissue that gets erect during sex bordering the perineum you have two different tubes regardless of the sex of your model and anus and a urethra obviously we don't want anything leaking out of those tubes
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involuntarily so we have some muscles that squeeze those tubes shut these ring-like muscles are called sphincters and we have a few the internal sphincters are actually smooth muscle under
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involuntary control but the external sphincters one around the anus and one around the urethra are skeletal muscles and are controlled voluntarily so when you're trying to hold in your poop you're
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actively contracting the external anal sphincter most of the time your smooth muscle internal sphincter does the trick on its own though so why do we have two well smooth muscle is much richer
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in mitochondria so it can contract for long bouts of time without fatiguing we only use the external sphincter when we're really trying to hold back the floodgates that's gross what makes this muscle
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weird though is how it doesn't anchor into any bone it kind of blends in with the other pelvic and perennial muscles but as far as the scope of this video just look for the bullseye it's easy
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to find on the other hand the external urethral sphincter will surround the urethra for people with penises the external urethral sphincter is right below the prostate at the base of the penis for people with vaginas they have shorter urethras so there will be an internal urethral sphincter
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right below the bladder and then right below that is going to be the external but no matter what kind of genitals you have the internal sphincter is right below the bladder almost like you're pinching a water balloon so now we've built a solid foundation for the pelvic organs to sit in
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but there are still some genital specific muscles to consider if you have testicles you have a cremaster muscle a thin layer of muscle that lines the scrotum and tucks the testicles into the body
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if it's too cold this thing contracts and brings them towards body heat i remember this one because it's main job is to turn up the heat on the testicles it's kind of like the cremaster is trying to cremate the testes that's my memory device but i'm sure someone's already typing their
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little jokey jokes into the comments section now these are just the tricks that i personally use to remember these muscles but if you want another great resource for learning anatomy then you need to check out kenhub i use them all the time when researching and writing these videos and for this
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series in particular their written articles and atlas of muscles have been extremely helpful in refreshing my knowledge of some of those deeper smaller muscles they've also got an enormous library of in-depth videos about muscles histology vasculature nerves and everything else you'd need
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to know in anatomy class all those beautiful illustrations that you saw in this video came from them and in addition to their library of content i also love kenhub's quiz feature they allow you to build custom quizzes with different difficulties and they give you feedback
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so you can figure out where your weaknesses are you can use most of kenhub's features for free but if you want full access to all of their learning content and quizzes then go to k-hub dot me slash corporis to get 10 off your subscription they've also got a no questions asked seven day money back
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guarantee so you can try out the premium version for seven days and if you don't like it get your money back if you want to see the next video in the muscle memorization series then check out this playlist here otherwise subscribe leave a like on the video have fun be good thanks for watching
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 47 sentences and 1915 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:36. The speaker talks fast, about 200 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 75% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- muscle /ˈmʌs.əl/ (noun) — A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.
- bone /boʊn/ (noun) — A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.
- penis /ˈpi.nɪs/ (noun) — The male erectile reproductive organ used for sexual intercourse that in the human male and other placental mammals is also used for urination; the tubular…
- anatomy /əˈnætəmi/ (noun) — The science that deals with the form and structure of organic bodies; anatomical structure or organization.
- connect /kəˈnɛkt/ (verb) — To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
- tissue /ˈtɪʃ.(j)u/ (noun) — Thin, woven, gauzelike fabric.
- vagina /vəˈdʒaɪ.nə/ (noun) — A sex organ for copulation and birth, found in female therian mammals, consisting of a passage between the vulval vestibule and the cervix of the uterus.
- trick /ˈtɹɪk/ (noun) — Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle.
- smooth /smuːð/ (adjective) — Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
- tube /tuːb/ (noun) — Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape.
- insert /ɪnˈsɝt/ (verb) — To put in between or into.
- quiz /kwɪz/ (noun) — A competition in the answering of questions.
- attach /əˈtæt͡ʃ/ (verb) — To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively).
- perennial /pəˈɹɛn.j(ə)l/ (adjective) — Lasting or remaining active throughout the year, for multiple years, or all the time.
- refer /ɹɪˈfɜː/ (verb) — To direct the attention of (someone toward something).
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- check out (verb) — To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
- see in (verb) — To show (someone) in: to introduce (someone) to the inside of a place.
- bring up (verb) — To mention.
- come from (verb) — To have as one's origin, birthplace or nationality.
- cut out (verb) — To refrain from (doing something, using something etc.), to stop or cease (doing something).
- figure out (verb) — To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
- get into (verb) — To move into (an object), such that one ends up inside it.
- get off (verb) — To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 37 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: smooth /smuːð/, thin /ˈθɪn/, urethra /jʊˈɹiθɹə/, urethral /jʊˈɹiθɹəl/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: tissue /ˈtɪʃ.(j)u/, sheet /ʃit/, superficial /ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/, extension /ɪkˈstɛnʃən/, evolution /ˌiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)n/
- Long words — get the stress right: anatomy /əˈnætəmi/, inferior /ɪnˈfɪɹ.i.ɚ/, intuitive /ɪnˈtjuːɪtɪv/, superficial /ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like muscle, bone, penis.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've seen · i've heard · you've heard |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was sponsored · is called · are joined |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | systems which makes · bones which are · penis which is |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.