1212 SURFACE AND SURGICAL ANATOMY. 
THE POPLITEAL SPACE. 
When the knee is extended the popliteal fascia is put upon the stretch, and 
obliterates the hollow of the pophteal space; by flexing the knee the fascia is 
relaxed, and the fingers may be pressed deeply into the upper or femoral division 
of the space; as a rule, the pulsations of the popliteal artery can be felt. Beneath 
the semitendinosus is the fleshy semimembranosus, which bulges into the space and 
overlaps the upper part of the popliteal artery. Between the semimembranosus and 
the inner head of the gastrocnemius is the most important bursa in the popliteal 
region; it not infrequently becomes distended with fluid, and then presents usually 
a more or less sausage-shaped outline; according to Holden, the bursa communi- 
cates with the cavity of the knee-joint in one subject out of five. 
To map out the line of the popliteal vessels and the internal popliteal nerve, draw 
a line from a point a little internal to the upper angle of the space to a point mid- 
Gluteus medius 
Tubercle of iliac crest 
Anterior superior iliac spine 
Linea semilunaris 
Sartorius 
\ 
Rectus femoris 
Tensor fasciz femoris! | 
Femoral artery at apex of Scarpa’s triangl 
tL 
Rectus femoris 
Lower end of femoral artery 
Vastus internus 
Internal semi- 
lunar cartilage 
Patella 
Pubie spine 
Pubic spine 
Adductor magnus 
Gracilis Spermatic cord 
‘Yensor tascia 
femoris 
Vastus externus 
“Internal condyle Sartorius 
— External abdominal ring Internal abdominal ring 
Sartorius 
Patellar ligament 
Internal tuberosity 
Tubercle of tibia 
Gastrocnemius 
Inner border of tibia 
Fic. 817.—THE THIGH AND GROIN, 
way between the condyles of the femur, and thence down the middle of the space 
to the level of the lower part of the tubercle of the tibia. The internal popliteal 
nerve les immediately beneath the deep fascia; the artery is separated from the 
trigone of the femur by a quantity of fat. The popliteal lymphatic glands le 
beneath the popliteal fascia, one upon the internal popliteal nerve, the others deeply 
in the space (Leaf). 
THE EFROND OF THE TAIGH: 
Between the front of the thigh and the abdomen is the fold of the groin, at the 
bottom of which Poupart’s ligament can be felt as a tense band, stretching from the 
anterior superior spine of the ilium to the spine of the pubis. The anterior superior 
spine looks directly forwards ; comparative measurements of the lower extremities 
