NERVES 169 



Anterior or superficial part: descends in front of adductor 

 brevis, behind pectineus and adductor longus ; it supplies the 

 hip-joint, gracilis, adductor longus, adductor brevis, femoral 

 artery, and a branch to plexus near sartorius ; rarely the 

 pectineus ; communicates with accessory obturator when this 

 is present. 



Posterior or deep part: passes through obturator externus 

 and behind adductor brevis ; it supplies a large branch to 

 adductor magnus, and gives branches also to obturator ex- 

 ternus, adductor brevis when this latter is not supplied by 

 the anterior branch, and a branch along popliteal artery to 

 knee-joint. 



Accessory obturator : from 3rd and 4th lumbar or from 

 obturator trunk ; when present it passes down on inner side 

 of psoas, over horizontal ramus of pubes, under pectineus, 

 and supplies pectineus and hip-joint ; communicates with the 

 anterior branch of the obturator. 



Anterior crural : from 3rd and 4th, and partly from the 

 2nd lumbar ; emerges from lower part of outer border of 

 psoas, and descends between that muscle and the iliacus, 

 lying on the outer side of the iliac vessels. It supplies the 

 iliacus and femoral artery whilst in the pelvis, and on emerging 

 from it beneath Poupart's ligament, it divides into : 



Anterior or superficial portion : which gives off : 



Middle cutaneous : pierces fascia lata 3 inches below Poupart's 

 ligament, dividing into two branches to supply the integument 

 of the front of the thigh as far as the knee. Communicates 

 with crural of genito-crural and internal cutaneous, and gives 

 a branch to the sartorius. 



Internal cutaneous : passes obliquely across to inner side of 

 femoral artery, and divides into: Anterior branch: pierces 

 fascia lata in lower J of thigh ; supplies integument of the 

 lower of inner side of thigh ; communicates near the 

 knee with -long saphenous. Posterior branch : passes down 

 posterior border of sartorius to knee, giving branches to 

 plexus near that muscle, and finally is distributed to integu- 

 ment of the leg; communicates in the thigh with the obturator 

 and the internal saphenous nerves, forming in Hunter's canal 

 a plexiform interlacement, the subsartorial plexus. 



Nerve to pectineus : generally two, which pass inwards under 

 femoral vessels to muscle. 



Nerves to sartorius : given off with middle cutaneous. 



Plexus patella : the patellar plexus is formed by communica- 

 tions between the anterior branch of the internal cutaneous, 

 branches of the middle and external cutaneous nerves, together 



