954 



NEUROLOGY 



Lateral 

 femoral 

 cutaneous 



Iliacus 

 I Femoral 



Psoas major 



Ant. 

 cutaneous 



1 



A nterior division 

 of obturator 



Jlcd. br. of ant. 



cutaneous 



| Saphenous 



//A 



lateral wall of the lesser pelvis, above and in front of the obturator vessels, to 

 the upper part of the obturator foramen. Here it enters the thigh, and divides 



into an anterior and a posterior 

 branch, which are separated at 

 first by some of the fibers of the 

 Obturator externus, and lower 

 down by the Adductor brevis. 



The anterior branch (ramus 

 anterior} (Fig. 827) leaves the 

 pelvis in front of the Obturator 

 externus and descends in front of 

 the Adductor brevis, and behind 

 the Pectineus and Adductor 

 longus; at the lower border of 

 the latter muscle it communi- 

 cates with the anterior cutaneous 

 and saphenous branches of the 

 femoral nerve, forming a kind of 

 plexus. It then descends upon 

 the femoral artery, to which it 

 is finally distributed. Near the 

 obturator foramen the nerve gives 

 off an articular branch to the hip- 

 joint. Behind the Pectineus, it 

 distributes branches to the Ad- 

 ductor longus and Gracilis, and 

 usually to the Adductor brevis, 

 and in rare cases to the Pecti- 

 neus; it receives a communicating 

 branch from the accessory ob- 

 turator nerve when that nerve is 

 present. 



Occasionally the communicat- 

 ing branch to the anterior cuta- 

 neous and saphenous branches of 

 the femoral is continued down, 

 as a cutaneous branch, to the 

 thigh and leg. When this is so, it 

 emerges from beneath the lower 

 border of the Adductor longus, 

 descends along the posterior 

 margin of the Sartorius to the 

 medial side of the knee, where it 

 pierces the deep fascia, communi- 

 cates with the saphenous nerve, 

 and is distributed to the skin of 

 the tibial side of the leg as low 

 down as its middle. 



The posterior branch (ramus 

 posterior) pierces the anterior 

 part of the Obturator externus, 

 and supplies this muscle; it then 

 passes behind the Adductor brevis 



FIG. 827. Nerves of the right lower extremity. Front view. OH the front of the Adductor 



Superficial 



Deep 

 peroneaT 



