Lower Limb: Anterior Compartment of Thigh | Femoral Nerve | Human Anatomy

We are here with a lecture on the anterior compartment of the thigh. The thigh is the area of the body between the hip and the knee. The thigh is divided into three compartments by the deep layer of the fascia.

▬ 📃 Anterior Compartment of Thigh ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The intermuscular septa divide the region of the thigh into three compartments.
🟠 Anterior Compartment
🟠 Medial Compartment
🟠 Posterior Compartment

The anterior compartment of the thigh is also called the extensor compartment due to the presence of extensor muscle at the anterior thigh. Vessels such as the femoral artery and its branches are also found in the anterior thigh along with the femoral vein and its tributaries.

Trauma or any injury to the thigh may lead to the development of compartment syndrome, in which pressure in a compartment of the thigh increases, leading to complications.

▬ 📜 Femoral Triangle ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The femoral triangle is a triangular depression on the front of the upper one-third of the thigh immediately below the inguinal ligament.

👉 Femoral Triangle Boundaries
The boundaries of the femoral triangle are:
🟣 Lateral - Sartorius Muscle
🟣 Medial - Adductor Longus Muscle
🟣 Base - Inguinal Ligament
🟣 Apex - Point of incidence of lateral and medial boundaries
🟣 Roof - Skin, Superfly Fascia and Deep Fascia
🟣 Floor - Adductor Longus, Pectineus, Iliacus and Psoas muscles

👉 Femoral Triangle Contents
The following anatomical structures are found within the boundaries of the femoral triangle:
🔵 Femoral Artery and Branches
🔵 Femoral Vein and Tributaries
🔵 Femoral Nerve and its Branches
🔵 Inguinal Lymph Nodes

▬ 📃 Adductor Canal ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The adductor canal, also known as the Hunter's canal, is a passage located in the thigh between the adductor muscles and the sartorius muscle. It runs from the upper part of the adductor hiatus (an opening in the adductor magnus muscle) down to the adductor magnus muscle.

👉 Adductor Canal Boundaries
🟤 Anteriorly: the upper part of the adductor magnus muscle, specifically the adductor hiatus.
🟤 Posteriorly: the posterior border of the femur bone
🟤 Medially: the sartorius muscle
🟤 Laterally: the vastus medialis muscle

👉 Adductor Canal Contents
🔴 Femoral artery
🔴 Femoral Vein
🔴 Saphenous nerve
🔴 Nerve to vastus medialis
🔴 Branches of anterior and posterior divisions of the obturator nerve

▬ 📜 Femoral Artery ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The femoral artery is a major blood vessel that originates from the external iliac artery, which is located in the abdomen and runs down the thigh to the knee. The femoral artery is the largest and most important blood vessel in the thigh and supplies blood to the lower limb. It also provides blood flow to the muscles of the thigh and lower limb, as well as the skin and superficial structures of the thigh.

👉 Femoral Artery Branches
🟢 Superficial external pudendal artery
🟢 Superficial epigastric artery
🟢 Superficial circumflex iliac artery
🟢 Profunda femoris artery
🟢 Deep external pudendal artery
🟢 Muscular branches

Watch the video to learn about the relations of the femoral artery.

▬ 📃 Femoral Vein ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The femoral vein is a large vein that runs parallel to the femoral artery in the thigh. It receives blood from the lower limb and the thigh and returns it to the heart via the inferior vena cava. The femoral vein is formed by the union of the deep femoral vein and the superficial femoral vein.

👉 Femoral Vein Tributaries
⚫️ Great saphenous vein
⚫️ Superficial epigastric vein
⚫️ Superficial circumflex iliac vein
⚫️ Superficial external pudendal vein
⚫️ Profunda femoris vein
⚫️ Deep external pudendal
⚫️ Muscular veins
⚫️ Lateral and medial circumflex femoral veins
⚫️ Descending genicular and muscular veins

▬ 📜 Femoral Nerve ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The femoral nerve is the chief nerve of the anterior compartment of the thigh. It originates from the lumbar plexus.

👉 Femoral Nerve Branches
🟡 Nerve to iliacus
🟡 Nerve to pectineus
🟡 Nerve to sartorius
🟡 Nerve to rectus femoris
🟡 Nerve to three vasti muscles
🟡 Intermediate and medial cutaneous nerves of the thigh
🟡 saphenous nerve
🟡 Vascular branches
🟡 Articular branches

▬ 📃 Anterior Compartment of Thigh Muscles ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The muscles of the anterior thigh are:
🟤 Sartorius
🟤 Rectus Femoris
🟤 Vastus Medialis
🟤 Vastus Intermedius
🟤 Vastus Lateralis
🟤 Articularis Genu
🟤 Iliacus
🟤 Psoas

The group of muscles known as the quadriceps femoris is the chief extensor in the anterior compartment of the thigh, which is why this compartment is also known as the extensor compartment.

The muscles of the anterior compartment of the thigh are innervated by the branches of the femoral nerve.

Watch the full video to go through the origin, insertion, innervation, and action of these muscles.

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