Femoral nerve
| Femoral nerve | |
|---|---|
 The lumbar plexus and its branches. (Femoral labeled at bottom left.) | |
 Femoral sheath laid open to show its three compartments. (Femoral nerve visible in yellow.) | |
| Details | |
| From | L2 |
| To | L4 |
| Innervates | anterior compartment of thigh |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | nervus femoralis |
| MeSH | D005267 |
| TA98 | A14.2.07.020 |
| TA2 | 6522 |
| FMA | 16486 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
The femoral nerve is a nerve in the thigh that supplies skin on the upper thigh and inner leg, and the muscles that extend the knee. It is the largest branch of the lumbar plexus.
Structure
The femoral nerve is the major nerve supplying the anterior compartment of the thigh. It is the largest branch of the lumbar plexus, and arises from the dorsal divisions of the ventral rami of the second, third, and fourth lumbar nerves (L2, L3, and L4).[1][2]
The nerve enters
Muscular branches
- The nerve to the pectineus muscle arises immediately above the inguinal ligament from the medial side of the femoral nerve, and passes behind the femoral sheath to enter the anterior surface of the muscle.[1]
- Anterior division supplies the sartorius muscle[1]
- Posterior division supplies the vastus intermedius), and the articularis genus muscle. The articularis genus is supplied by a branch of the nerve to vastus intermedius.[1]
Cutaneous branches
- The anterior division gives off anterior cutaneous branches: The anterior cutaneous branches are: the intermediate femoral cutaneous nerve and the medial femoral cutaneous nerve.[1]
- The posterior division gives off only one branch, which is the saphenous nerve.[1]
Articular branches
- Hip joint is supplied by nerve to the rectus femoris.[1]
- Knee joint is supplied by the nerves to the three vastus muscles. The nerve to vastus medialis is particularly thick because it contains the proprioceptive fibres from the knee joint. This is in accordance to the Hilton's law.[1]
Vascular branches
- Branches to the femoral artery and its branches.[1]
Clinical significance
Signals from the femoral nerve and its branches can be
During pelvic surgery and abdominal surgery, the femoral nerve must be identified early on to protect it from iatrogenic nerve injury.[4]
The femoral nerve stretch test can be performed to identify the compression of spinal nerve roots.[5] The test is positive if thigh pain increases.[5]
Additional images
-
Structures passing behind the right inguinal ligament -
Nerves of the right leg. -
Femoral nerve.Deep dissection. -
Femoral nerve.Deep dissection.
See also
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 955 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
- ^ ISBN 978-81-239-1864-8.
- PMID 32768085, retrieved 2021-01-17
- ISBN 978-0-443-06651-1, retrieved 2021-01-06
- ISBN 978-0-12-226870-0, retrieved 2021-01-06
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4377-2411-0, retrieved 2021-01-06
External links
- Femoral nerve at the Duke University Health System's Orthopedics program
- MedlinePlus Encyclopedia: 000687 - "Femoral nerve dysfunction" (includes illustration)
- Anatomy photo:40:17-0202 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Posterior Abdominal Wall: Nerves of the Lumbar Plexus"
- Cross section image: pembody/body15a—Plastination Laboratory at the Medical University of Vienna
- Cross section image: pelvis/pelvis-e12-15—Plastination Laboratory at the Medical University of Vienna
- arteries-nerves%20LE/nerves1 at the Dartmouth Medical School's Department of Anatomy
