THE ANTERIOR FEMORAL REGION. 509 



side of which is formed by the Adductor longus, and the base, turned upward, 

 by Poupart's ligament ; the femoral artery passes perpendicularly through the 

 middle of this space from its base to its apex. In the middle third of the 

 thigh the femoral artery lie& first along the inner border, and then behind the 

 Sartorius. 



Relations. By its superficial surface, with the fascia lata and integument; 

 by its deep surface, with the Rectus, Iliacus, Psoas, Vastus internus, anterior 

 crural nerve, sheath of the femoral vessels, Adductor longus, Adductor magnus, 

 Gracilis, Semitendinosus, long saphenous nerve, and internal lateral ligament of 

 the knee-joint. 



The Quadriceps extensor includes the four remaining muscles on the front of 

 the thigh. It is the great Extensor muscle of the leg, forming a large fleshy 

 mass which covers the front and sides of the femur, being united below into a 

 single tendon, attached to the patella, and above subdivided into separate por- 

 tions, which have received distinct names. Of these, one occupying the middle 

 of the thigh, connected above with the ilium, is called the Rectus femoris, from its 

 straight course. The other divisions lie in immediate connection with the shaft 

 of the femur, which they cover from the trochanters to the condyles. The portion 

 on the outer side of the femur is termed the Vastus externus ; that covering the 

 inner side, the Vastus internus ; and that covering the front of the femur, the 

 < 'n/reus. The two latter portions are, however, so intimately blended as to form 

 but one muscle. 



The Rectus femoris is situated in the middle of the anterior region of the 

 thigh : it is fusiform in shape, and its superficial fibres are arranged in a bipenni- 

 form manner, the deep fibres running straight down to the deep aponeurosis. It 

 arises by two tendons : one the straight tendon, or short head, from the anterior 

 inferior spinous process of the ilium ; the other is flattened, and curves outward, 

 to be attached to a groove above the brim of the acetabulum ; this is the reflected 

 tendon, or long head, of the Rectus ; it unites with the straight tendon at an 

 acute angle, and then spreads into an aponeurosis, from which the muscular 

 fibres arise. 1 The muscle terminates in a broad and thick aponeurosis which 

 occupies the lower two-thirds of its posterior surface, and, gradually becoming 

 narrowed into a flattened tendon, is inserted into the patella in common with the 

 Vasti and Crureus. 



Relations. By its superficial surface, with the anterior fibres of the Gluteus 

 minimus, the Tensor vaginge femoris, the Sartorius, and the Psoas and Iliacus ; by 

 its lower three-fourths, with the fascia lata; by its posterior surface, with the 

 hip-joint, the external circumflex vessels, and the Crureus and Vasti muscles. 



The three remaining muscles have been described collectively by some anat- 

 omists, separate from the Rectus, under the name of the Triceps extensor cruris. 



The Vastus externus is the largest part of the Quadriceps extensor. It arises 

 by a broad aponeurosis, which is attached to the tubercle of the femur, to the 

 anterior and inferior borders of the great trochanter, to a rough line leading from 

 the trochanter major to the linea aspera, and to the outer lip of the linea aspera: 

 this aponeurosis covers the upper three-fourths of the muscle, and from its inner 

 surface many fibres arise. A few additional fibres arise from the tendon of the 

 Gluteus maximus and from the external intermuscular septum between the Vastus 

 externus and short head of the Biceps. The fibres form a large fleshy mass which 

 is attached to a strong aponeurosis, placed on the under surface of the muscle at 

 its lower part : this becomes contracted and thickened into a flat tendon, which is 

 inserted into the outer border of the patella, blending with the great extensor 

 tendon. 



1 Mr. W. R. Williams, in an interesting paper in the Journ. of Anat. and Phys., vol. xiii. p. 204, 

 points out that the reflected tendon is the real origin of the muscle, and is alone present 

 in early foetal life. The direct tendon is merely an accessory band of condensed fascia. The 

 paper will well repay perusal, though in some particulars I think the description in the text 

 more generally accurate. ED. 



