The quadriceps are made up of four muscles. One of those muscles is the rectus femoris. The rectus femoris runs from the front outside edge of your hip bone, down the front of your thigh until it attaches onto the patellar tendon on the top of your knee, running to the front of your shin. It is the only quadriceps muscle to run over both your hip and knee joints, playing a role in both hip flexion and knee extension.