SURFACE MARKINGS 221 



The Front of the Thigh. 



Poupart's ligament, in the fold of the groin, divides the front 

 of the thigh from the abdomen. Comparative measurements of 

 the length of the limbs are made from the anterior superior 

 spine of the ilium to either of the malleoli with the pelvis 

 horizontal. 



The long saphenous vein is indicated by a line drawn from the 

 adductor tubercle of the femur to the lower part of the saphenous 

 opening (1^ inches below and external to the pubic spine). 



The course of the femoral artery is mapped out, with the 

 thigh slightly flexed and rotated outwards, by a line drawn from 

 a point midway between the anterior superior spine and the 

 symphysis pubis, to the adductor tubercle of the femur ; the 

 upper third of this line corresponds to the part of the artery in 

 Scarpa's triangle, and the middle third to that in Hunter's canal. 



The Knee. 



The patella can be easily outlined and moved from side to side 

 with the knee extended and the quadriceps relaxed; with the 

 quadriceps contracted the patellar ligament can be traced to its 

 insertion. In semiflexion, the inner margin of the internal 

 condyle, the upper border of the inner tuberosity of the tibia, 

 and the lower part of the patella, are distinctly visible, and 

 together bound a triangular depression which overlies the line of 

 the joint and the anterior part of the internal semilunar cartilage. 



The Leg 1 . 



The inner surface of the tibia is subcutaneous throughout. 



The shaft of the fibula, somewhat posterior to the tibia, is only 

 subcutaneous just above the malleolus. 



The extensor and peroneal muscles, when thrown into action,, 

 are mapped out on the surface by grooves corresponding to the 

 intermuscular septa. 



The cutaneous part of the musculo-cutaneous nerve corresponds 

 to the lower half of a line drawn from the anterior border of the 

 head of the fibula to the anterior border of the external malleolus. 



The anterior tibial artery enters the leg two inches below the 



