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The human leg is the entire lower limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh or sometimes even the hip or buttock region. The major bones of the leg are the femur, tibia, and adjacent fibula. The thigh is between the hip and knee, while the calf (rear) and shin (front) are between the knee and foot.
The femoral artery is a large artery in the thigh and the main arterial supply to the thigh and leg. The femoral artery gives off the deep femoral artery and descends along the anteromedial part of the thigh in the femoral triangle. It enters and passes through the adductor canal, and becomes the popliteal artery as it passes through the adductor hiatus in the adductor magnus near the junction of the middle and distal thirds of the thigh.
The femoral triangle is an anatomical region of the upper third of the thigh. It is a subfascial space which appears as a triangular depression below the inguinal ligament when the thigh is flexed, abducted and laterally rotated.
The genitofemoral nerve is a mixed branch of the lumbar plexus derived from anterior rami of L1-L2. It splits a genital branch and a femoral branch. It provides sensory innervation to the upper anterior thigh, as well as the skin of the anterior scrotum in males and mons pubis in females. It also provides motor innervation to the cremaster muscle.
The inguinal ligament, also known as Poupart's ligament or groin ligament, is a band running from the pubic tubercle to the anterior superior iliac spine. It forms the base of the inguinal canal through which an indirect inguinal hernia may develop.
Meralgia paresthetica or meralgia paraesthetica is numbness or pain in the outer thigh not caused by injury to the thigh, but by injury to a nerve that extends from the spinal column to the thigh.
The iliopsoas muscle refers to the joined psoas major and the iliacus muscles. The two muscles are separate in the abdomen, but usually merge in the thigh. They are usually given the common name iliopsoas. The iliopsoas muscle joins to the femur at the lesser trochanter. It acts as the strongest flexor of the hip.
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.
The lumbar plexus is a web of nerves in the lumbar region of the body which forms part of the larger lumbosacral plexus. It is formed by the divisions of the first four lumbar nerves (L1-L4) and from contributions of the subcostal nerve (T12), which is the last thoracic nerve. Additionally, the ventral rami of the fourth lumbar nerve pass communicating branches, the lumbosacral trunk, to the sacral plexus. The nerves of the lumbar plexus pass in front of the hip joint and mainly support the anterior part of the thigh.
The lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh is a cutaneous nerve of the thigh. It originates from the dorsal divisions of the second and third lumbar nerves from of lumbar plexus. It passes under the inguinal ligament to reach the thigh. It supplies sensation to the skin on the lateral part of the thigh by an anterior branch and a posterior branch.
The pubic tubercle is a prominent tubercle on the superior ramus of the pubis bone of the pelvis.
The iliac fascia is the fascia overlying the iliacus muscle.
The femoral sheath is a funnel-shaped downward extension of abdominal fascia within which the femoral artery and femoral vein pass between the abdomen and the thigh. The femoral sheath is subdivided by two vertical partitions to form three compartments ; the medial compartment is known as the femoral canal and contains lymphatic vessels and a lymph node, whereas the intermediate canal and the lateral canal accommodate the femoral vein and the femoral artery (respectively). Some neurovascular structures perforate the femoral sheath. Topographically, the femoral sheath is contained within in the femoral triangle.
The lumboinguinal nerve, also known as the femoral or crural branch of genitofemoral, is a nerve in the abdomen. The lumboinguinal nerve is a branch of the genitofemoral nerve. The "femoral" part supplies skin to the femoral triangle area.
The saphenous nerve is the largest cutaneous branch of the femoral nerve. It is derived from the lumbar plexus (L3-L4). It is a strictly sensory nerve, and has no motor function. It commences in the proximal (upper) thigh and travels along the adductor canal. Upon exiting the adductor canal, the saphenous nerve terminates by splitting into two terminal branches: the sartorial nerve, and the infrapatellar nerve. The saphenous nerve is responsible for providing sensory innervation to the skin of the anteromedial leg.
The anterior compartment of thigh contains muscles which extend the knee and flex the hip.
The anterior cutaneous branches of the femoral nerve consist of the following nerves: intermediate cutaneous nerve and medial cutaneous nerve.
The vascular lacuna is the medial compartment beneath the inguinal ligament. It is separated from the lateral muscular lacuna by the iliopectineal arch. It gives passage to the femoral vessels, lymph vessels and lymph nodes.
The Iliopectineal arch is a thickened band of fused iliac fascia and psoas fascia passing from the posterior aspect of the inguinal ligament anteriorly across the front of the femoral nerve to attach to the iliopubic eminence of the hip bone posteriorly. The iliopectineal arch thus forms a septum which subdivides the space deep to the inguinal ligament into a lateral muscular lacuna and a medial vascular lacuna. When a psoas minor muscle is present, its tendon of insertion blends with the iliopectineal arch
Femoral nerve dysfunction, also known as femoral neuropathy, is a rare type of peripheral nervous system disorder that arises from damage to nerves, specifically the femoral nerve. Given the location of the femoral nerve, indications of dysfunction are centered around the lack of mobility and sensation in lower parts of the legs. The causes of such neuropathy can stem from both direct and indirect injuries, pressures and diseases. Physical examinations are usually first carried out, depending on the high severity of the injury. In the cases of patients with hemorrhage, imaging techniques are used before any physical examination. Another diagnostic method, electrodiagnostic studies, are recognized as the gold standard that is used to confirm the injury of the femoral nerve. After diagnosis, different treatment methods are provided to the patients depending upon their symptoms in order to effectively target the underlying causes. Currently, femoral neuropathy is highly underdiagnosed and its precedent medical history is not well documented worldwide.
References
- ↑ "lacuna musculorum". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
- ↑ Gray, Andrew T. (2019). "39 - Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve Block". Atlas of Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia (3rd ed.). Elsevier. pp. 143–149. doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-50951-0.00039-6. ISBN 978-0-323-50951-0.
- ↑ Sinnatamby, Chummy S. (2011). Last's Anatomy (12th ed.). p. 326. ISBN 978-0-7295-3752-0.
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