The superficial muscles in the anterior compartment are the flexor carpi ulnaris, palmaris longus, flexor carpi radialis and pronator teres. They all originate from a common tendon, which arises from the medial epicondyle of the humerus .

Flexor carpi radialis lies deep to the forearm skin and superficial to the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle. It is lateral to palmaris longus, while being medial to pronator teres in its proximal part and to brachioradialis in its distal part.

Being directly lateral to flexor carpi radialis muscle, pronator teres is the most lateral of the superficial flexors of the forearm. In its proximal part, the muscle lies deep to flexor digitorum superficialis, while the distal anterior surface is covered by brachioradialis muscle.

The contraction of flexor carpi radialis produces movements of the hand at the wrist joint. Its main actions include wrist flexion and wrist abduction (radial deviation). To a lesser extent, the muscle contributes to the pronation of the forearm.

The superficial compartment contains the pronator teres, the flexor carpi radialis, and the flexor carpi ulnaris. The palmaris longus is also present in the superficial compartment but is often absent in many people.