📚 Table of Contents
📖 Overview
The Interactive Muscle Body Diagram is a modern, responsive collection of SVG-based anatomical diagrams featuring interactive muscle groups. This package includes four high-quality scalable vector graphics representing male and female anatomy from both front and back perspectives.
Built with modern web standards, this solution provides an engaging way to display human muscular anatomy with hover effects, bilateral highlighting, tooltips, and smooth animations. Perfect for fitness applications, medical education platforms, anatomy learning tools, and health-related websites.
✨ Features
🎯 Interactive Highlighting
Hover over any muscle to see it highlighted with smooth transitions and visual feedback.
🔄 Bilateral Synchronization
Automatically highlights both left and right sides of paired muscles for better anatomical understanding.
📱 Fully Responsive
Adapts seamlessly to any screen size from mobile phones to large desktop displays.
🎨 Customizable Colors
Easy to customize color schemes, hover effects, and visual styles through CSS.
⚡ Smooth Animations
Beautiful flip animations when switching between views and genders with GPU-accelerated transitions.
⌨️ Keyboard Navigation
Built-in keyboard shortcuts for accessibility and power users.
🔍 Scalable SVG
Crystal-clear graphics at any resolution with infinite scalability.
💡 Tooltips
Optional tooltips display muscle names and information on hover.
📁 File Structure
The package includes the following files and directories:
muscle-body-diagram/ ├── source/ │ ├── man-front.svg # Male anatomy - front view │ ├── man-back.svg # Male anatomy - back view │ ├── woman-front.svg # Female anatomy - front view │ ├── woman-back.svg # Female anatomy - back view │ └── documentation/ │ └── index.html # This documentation ├── demo.html # Complete demo implementation └── README.md # Quick reference guide
SVG Files
- man-front.svg - Male figure facing forward with detailed muscle groups
- man-back.svg - Male figure from behind showing posterior muscles
- woman-front.svg - Female figure facing forward with anatomical accuracy
- woman-back.svg - Female figure from behind with muscle detail
Each SVG file contains:
- Individually selectable muscle groups with unique IDs
- Pre-styled CSS classes for hover effects
- Title elements for tooltips and accessibility
- Bilateral muscle pairing for synchronized highlighting
- Color-coded muscle groups by region
🚀 Quick Start
Get up and running in under 5 minutes:
1. Basic HTML Implementation
The simplest way to display a diagram:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Muscle Diagram</title>
</head>
<body>
<object data="source/man-front.svg" type="image/svg+xml">
Your browser does not support SVG
</object>
</body>
</html>
2. Using the Demo Template
For a complete implementation with all features, open demo.html in your browser. This includes:
- Gender selection (Male/Female)
- View rotation (Front/Back)
- Smooth flip animations
- Responsive layout
- Keyboard shortcuts
demo.html as a starting template and customize it to your needs. It's production-ready and includes all best practices.
⚙️ Installation & Integration
Method 1: Direct SVG Embedding (Recommended)
For maximum interactivity and styling control, embed SVG using the <object> tag:
<object
data="source/man-front.svg"
type="image/svg+xml"
width="400"
height="600">
<!-- Fallback content -->
Your browser doesn't support SVG
</object>
Method 2: Image Tag (Simple)
For basic display without interactivity:
<img src="source/man-front.svg" alt="Human muscle anatomy" width="400">
<img> tag limits interactivity. For full hover effects and JavaScript control, use <object> or inline SVG.
Method 3: Inline SVG (Advanced)
For complete JavaScript control, you can inline the SVG directly:
fetch('source/man-front.svg')
.then(response => response.text())
.then(svg => {
document.getElementById('diagram-container').innerHTML = svg;
});
🎨 Customization Guide
Changing Colors
Each muscle group can be styled using CSS. The SVG files include embedded styles that you can override:
/* Target specific muscle groups */
.muscle-group {
fill: #ff6b6b; /* Base color */
transition: all 0.3s ease;
}
.muscle-group:hover {
fill: #ff5252; /* Hover color */
filter: drop-shadow(0 0 10px rgba(255, 82, 82, 0.5));
}
/* Customize by muscle type */
#pectoralis, #pectoralis-right {
fill: #4ecdc4;
}
#biceps, #biceps-right {
fill: #95e1d3;
}
Adding Custom Tooltips
Access the SVG DOM and add custom tooltip functionality:
const svgObject = document.querySelector('object');
svgObject.addEventListener('load', () => {
const svgDoc = svgObject.contentDocument;
const muscles = svgDoc.querySelectorAll('.muscle');
muscles.forEach(muscle => {
muscle.addEventListener('mouseenter', (e) => {
const name = e.target.getAttribute('data-muscle');
showTooltip(name, e.pageX, e.pageY);
});
});
});
Implementing Click Events
Make muscles clickable to show detailed information:
const svgDoc = svgObject.contentDocument;
const muscles = svgDoc.querySelectorAll('.muscle');
muscles.forEach(muscle => {
muscle.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
const muscleId = e.target.id;
const muscleName = e.target.querySelector('title').textContent;
// Show detailed info
showMuscleDetails(muscleId, muscleName);
});
});
Responsive Sizing
Make the diagrams responsive to container size:
.diagram-container {
width: 100%;
max-width: 600px;
margin: 0 auto;
}
.diagram-container object {
width: 100%;
height: auto;
max-height: 650px;
}
@media (max-width: 768px) {
.diagram-container object {
max-height: 520px;
}
}
🔧 API Reference
State Management
The demo implementation uses simple state variables:
| Variable | Type | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
currentGender |
String | 'man', 'woman' | Currently displayed gender |
currentView |
String | 'front', 'back' | Currently displayed view angle |
Functions
updateDisplay(animate)
Updates the displayed diagram based on current state.
- Parameters:
animate(boolean) - Whether to use flip animation - Returns: void
- Example:
updateDisplay(true)
Event Listeners
// Gender change
genderRadios.forEach(radio => {
radio.addEventListener('change', (e) => {
currentGender = e.target.value;
updateDisplay(false);
});
});
// Rotate view
rotateBtn.addEventListener('click', () => {
currentView = currentView === 'front' ? 'back' : 'front';
updateDisplay(true);
});
🗂️ SVG Structure
Muscle Group Naming Convention
Each muscle follows a consistent naming pattern:
- Single muscles:
id="muscle-name"(e.g.,id="trapezius") - Bilateral muscles:
id="muscle-name"andid="muscle-name-right" - Groups: Wrapped in
<g>tags with classmuscle-group
Common Muscle IDs
| Muscle | ID (Left) | ID (Right) | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pectoralis Major | pectoralis | pectoralis-right | Front |
| Biceps | biceps | biceps-right | Front |
| Rectus Abdominis | abs | abs-right | Front |
| Quadriceps | quadriceps | quadriceps-right | Front |
| Trapezius | trapezius | trapezius-right | Back |
| Latissimus Dorsi | lats | lats-right | Back |
| Gluteus Maximus | glutes | glutes-right | Back |
| Hamstrings | hamstrings | hamstrings-right | Back |
Bilateral Highlighting
The SVG files include CSS that automatically highlights both sides of paired muscles:
/* Highlight both sides when hovering one */
#biceps:hover ~ #biceps-right,
#biceps-right:hover ~ #biceps {
opacity: 0.8;
filter: brightness(1.2);
}
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts
The demo includes these keyboard shortcuts for enhanced accessibility:
| Key | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| R | Rotate View | Switch between front and back view |
| M | Male | Show male anatomy |
| F | Female | Show female anatomy |
Implementation
document.addEventListener('keydown', (e) => {
if (e.key === 'r' || e.key === 'R') {
rotateBtn.click();
} else if (e.key === 'm' || e.key === 'M') {
document.querySelector('input[value="man"]').click();
} else if (e.key === 'f' || e.key === 'F') {
document.querySelector('input[value="woman"]').click();
}
});
🌐 Browser Support
This package is compatible with all modern browsers:
| Browser | Minimum Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | 90+ | Full support |
| Firefox | 88+ | Full support |
| Safari | 14+ | Full support |
| Edge | 90+ | Full support |
| Opera | 76+ | Full support |
| iOS Safari | 14+ | Full support (touch enabled) |
| Chrome Android | 90+ | Full support (touch enabled) |
Required Features
- SVG 2.0 support
- CSS3 animations and transitions
- ES6 JavaScript (can be transpiled for older browsers)
- CSS Grid and Flexbox
🔍 Troubleshooting
SVG Not Displaying
Problem: SVG doesn't show up on the page.
Solutions:
- Check the file path is correct relative to your HTML file
- Ensure your server is configured to serve SVG files (MIME type:
image/svg+xml) - Verify the SVG files aren't corrupted by opening them directly in a browser
- Check browser console for CORS errors if loading from different domain
Hover Effects Not Working
Problem: Muscles don't highlight on hover.
Solutions:
- Use
<object>tag instead of<img>for interactivity - Ensure CSS is properly loaded within the SVG file
- Check that JavaScript isn't blocking the SVG loading
- Verify no CSS from your page is overriding SVG styles
Animation Performance Issues
Problem: Animations are choppy or slow.
Solutions:
- Enable hardware acceleration in CSS:
transform: translateZ(0) - Reduce the number of simultaneous animations
- Use
will-changeproperty for animated elements - Consider reducing SVG complexity for lower-end devices
Mobile Touch Issues
Problem: Hover effects don't work on touch devices.
Solutions:
- Add click/touch event listeners in addition to hover
- Implement a tap-to-highlight functionality
- Use
@media (hover: hover)to apply hover-only styles
/* Apply hover effects only on devices that support hover */
@media (hover: hover) {
.muscle:hover {
fill: #ff5252;
}
}
/* Alternative active state for touch devices */
@media (hover: none) {
.muscle:active {
fill: #ff5252;
}
}
CORS Errors
Problem: Cannot access SVG content from JavaScript.
Solutions:
- Serve files from the same origin as your HTML page
- Configure proper CORS headers on your server
- Use a local development server instead of opening files directly (file://)
- Consider inlining the SVG if you need full JavaScript access
🙏 Credits & License
Created By
Mauricio Ferreira
Visian Systems
Email: contact@visiansystems.com
Version History
- v2.0 (November 2025) - Complete redesign with modern features, improved animations, keyboard shortcuts, and enhanced responsiveness
- v1.0 (September 2022) - Initial release with basic interactive SVG diagrams
Technologies Used
- SVG 2.0 for vector graphics
- HTML5 and CSS3
- Vanilla JavaScript (ES6+)
- CSS Grid and Flexbox
- CSS Animations and Transitions
Support
For questions, bug reports, or feature requests, please contact us via email. We're committed to providing excellent support and continuously improving this product.