DISSECTION OF THE POPLITEAL SPACE. 



superficial 

 and deep 

 boundaries : 



greatest 

 width and 

 depth ; 



contents. 



Popltieal 

 artery : 



extent ; 



only a small 

 part in 

 space 



Stretched over the cavity are the fascia lata and the integuments 

 In the deep boundary, or the floor, are the following structures : 

 the surface on the back of the femur included between the supra 

 condylar (popliteal surface), the posterior ligament of the knee 



joint, and part of the popliteu: 

 muscle with the upper end of th( 

 tibia (fig. 52, p. 128). 



The popliteal space is widest anc 

 deepest immediately above th( 

 femoral condyles. (Above anc 

 below it communicates, beneatl 

 the muscles, with the back of tin- 

 thigh and leg.) 



In the hollow are containec 

 the popliteal vessels with theii 

 branches, and the ending of th< 

 external saphenous vein ; the pop 

 liteal trunks of the great sciatic 

 nerve, and some of their branches 

 together with lymphatic glands 

 and a large quantity of fat. Th< 

 small sciatic nerve and its vessels 

 are placed superficially in the 

 ham ; and a branch of the obtu 

 rator nerve lies on the artery in 

 the bottom of the space. 



The POPLITEAL ARTERY (fig. 5 1 1 



and fig. 5 2) is the continuation of the 

 superficial femoral,and reaches from 

 the opening in the adductor inag- 

 nus to the lower border of the pop 

 liteus muscle, where it terminates 

 by bifurcating into the anterioi 



FIG. 51. VIEW OP THE POPLITEAL and posterior tibial arteries. A 

 SPACE (QUAIN'S ARTERIES). 



1. Popliteal vessels. 



2. Internal popliteal nerve. 



3. External popliteal nerve. 



4. Semimembranosus muscle. 



5. Semitendinosus muscle. 



6. Biceps muscle. 



The part in 

 the ham : 



course and 

 relations ; 



portion of the artery lies in th< 

 popliteal space, and is not coverec 

 by muscle ; but both above anc 

 below, it is concealed by the 

 muscles bounding the hollow. The 

 description of the artery may be 



7, 8. Inner and outer heads of the conveniently divided into two 

 gastrocnemius muscle. The super- par ts one reaching to the lower 

 ncial vein on the gastrocnemius is t- -i. c 1 i j -u ^ 



the short saphenous, which enters limlt of the ham > and the the 

 the popliteal. being beneath the gastrocnemius. 



As far as the ham the vessel is 



inclined obliquely from the inner side of the limb to the interva 

 between the condyles of the femur, and is then directed along the 

 middle of the space over the knee-joint. The artery is overlain 

 by the belly of the semimembranosus muscle to within an inch 

 of the internal condyle ; but thence onwards it is situate between 



