Anterior compartment of thigh

2. Anterior compartment
of thigh
Aqsa mobeen
Roll no F09018
Maryam javaid
Roll no F09011

3. Fascial compartment of
thigh:
• Three fascial septa pass from the inner
aspect of deep fascial sheath of the thigh
to the linea aspra of femur
• By this means the thigh is divided into
three compartments each having muscles,
nerves and arteries
• The compartments are anterior,medial and
posterior

4. Contents of anterior fascial
compartment of thigh:
• Muscles: sartorius,iliacs,psoas,
pectineus,quadriceps femoris(rectus
femoris,vastus medialis,vastus
lateralis,vastus intermedias)
• Blood supply: Femoral artery
• Nerve supply: Femoral nerve except psoas
which is innervated by Lumbar plexus.

5. Femoral triangle
(trigonum femorale):
• Also known as Scarpa’s triangle
• Boundaries:
• superiorly: inguinal ligament
• Laterally: medial border of sartorius
• Medially: medial border of adductor
longus
• Apex: Its apex is directed downward

6. Cont….
• Floor: (lateral to medial)
• iliacus
• psoas
• Pectineus
• Some times
• Small part of adductor brevis
• Adductor longus

7. Cont….
• Roof:
• Formed by
• Skin
• Fascia of thigh

8. Cont….
• Contents:
• femoral nerve (on iliacus)
• Femoral sheath
• femoral artery (on psoas)
• femoral vein (on pectineus)
• Deep inguinal lymph nodes

9. Boundaries of inguinal
ligament:

10. Floor of femoral triangle:

11. Contents of femoral
triangle:

12. Contents of femorl
triangle:

13. Adductor canal:
• Also known as subsartorial canal or
hunter's canal.
• Intermuscular cleft situated on medial
aspect of middle third of thigh beneath
the sartorius muscle.
• Extention: it extends from the apex of
the femoral triangle to the opening in the
Adductor Magnus.

14. Cont….
• Walls:
• In cross section it is triangular having 3
walls.
• Anteromedial wall:formed by sartorius
muscle and fascia.
• Posterior wall:formed by adductor longus
and adductor Magnus.
• Lateral wall:formed by vastus medialis

15. Cont….
• Contents:
• femoral artery
• Femoral vein
• saphenous nerve
• nerve to vastus medialis (upper part)
• Terminal part of obturator nerve
• Deep lymph vessels

16. Adductor canal:

17. Femoral sheath:
• Also known as crural sheath.
• Formed by a prolongation downward, behind the
inguinal ligament, of the fasciae which line the
abdomen.
• Anteriorly:transversalis fascia continued down in
front of the femoral vessels.
• Posteriorly: iliac fascia
• The sheath surrounds the femoral vessels and
lymphatics for about 1 inch below the inguinal
ligament.

18. Cont….
• Lateral compartment: formed by femoral
artery when it enters the thigh beneath
the inguinal ligament.
• Intermediate compartment: formed by
femoral vein when it leaves the thigh and
lies on its medial side
• Medial compartment: formed by lymph
vessels when they leave the thigh
• All three compartments are separated by
fibrous septa.

19. Cont….
• Femoral canal: small medial
compartment for lymph vessels.
• About 1.5 inch long.
• Its upper opening is called femoral
ring.
• Fibrous septum fills this ring which is
a condensation of extra peroneal
tissue.

20. Cont….
• Contents of femoral canal:
• Fatty connective tissue
• Efferent lymph vessels from deep
inguinal lymph nodes
• Deep inguinal lymph nodes

21. Cont….
• Relations of femoral ring:
• Anteriorly:inguinal ligament
• posteriorly:superior ramus of pubis
• Medially:lacunar ligament
• Laterally: femoral vein

22. Cont….
Femoral
sheath,canal,vein,artery

23. Femoral artery:
• Main arterial supply of lower limb
• The femoral artery is a large artery in the muscles of the
thigh. It is a continuation of external iliac artery
• The femoral artery begins immediately behind the inguinal
ligament, midway between the anterior superior spine of the
ilium and the symphysis pubis, and passes down the front
and medial side of the thigh.
• It descends almost vertically towards the adductor
tubercle of femur.
• It enters the popliteal fossa by passing through the
(adductor hiatus) opening of adductor Magnus where it
becomes the Popliteal artery.

24. Cont….
• Relations:
• Anteriorly:in the upper part of its
course it is superficial and is covered
by skin and fascia.
• In the lower part of its course it
passes behind the sartorius muscle.

25. Cont….
• Posteriorly:psoas, pectineus,adductor
longus.
• The artery is separated from the capsule
of the hip-joint by the tendon of the Psoas
major
• from the Pectineus by the femoral vein
and profunda vessels
• from the Adductor longus by the femoral
vein.

26. Cont….
• Medially: femoral vein
• Laterally: femoral nerve and its
branches.

27. Cont….
• Branches:
• 3 superficial branches and 3 deep
branches
• Superficial branches:
• Superficial circumflex iliac artery:
small branch that runs upto the
region of anterior superior iliac spine

28. Cont….
• Superficial epigastric artery: small
branch that crosses the inguinal
ligament and runs to the region of
umblicus
• Superficial external pudendal artery:
small branch that runs medially to
supply the skin of scrotum

29. Cont….
• Deep branches:
• Deep external pudendal artery:runs
medially to supply the skin of scrotum
• Profunda femoris artery: large and
important branch that arise from lateral
side of femoral artery about 1.5 in below
the inguinal ligament
• Passes medially behind the femoral vessels
and enters the medial fascial compartment
of thigh

30. Cont….
• Ends by becoming 4th perforating artery
• At its origin it gives off medial and lateral
femoral circumflex arteries
• During its course it gives off three
perforating arteries
• Descending genicular artery: small branch
that assists in supplying the knee joint.

31. Cont….

32. Cont….

33. Cont….

34. Cont….

35. Cont….

36. Femoral vein:
• Enters the thigh by passing through
opening in adductor Magnus as a
continuation of popliteal vein
• Ascends through the thigh lying at first on
lateral side of artery then posterior to it
and finally on its medial side
• Leaves the thigh in intermediate
compartment of femoral sheath and passes
behind the inguinal ligament to become
external iliac vein

37. Cont….
• Tributaries:
• Great saphenous vein
• Veins that correspond to branches of
femoral artery
• Veins that drain into great saphenous vein:
• Superficial circumflex iliac vein
• Superficial epigastric vein
• External pudendal veins

38. Cont….

39. Cont….

40. Femoral nerve:
• The largest branch of the lumbar plexus, arises from the
dorsal divisions of the ventral rami of the second, third, and
fourth lumbar nerves.
• It descends through the fibers of the Psoas major,
emerging from the muscle at the lower part of its lateral
border, and passes down between it and the Iliacus, behind
the iliac fascia
• it then runs beneath the inguinal ligament, into the thigh,
and splits into an anterior and a posterior division.
• Under the inguinal ligament, it is separated from the
femoral artery by a portion of the Psoas major.
• It supplies all the muscles of anterior compartment of
thigh.

41. Divisions:
• Anterior division:
• In the thigh the anterior division of the femoral nerve gives
off anterior cutaneous and muscular branches.
• Anterior cutaneous branches: The anterior cutaneous
branches comprise the following nerves: intermediate
cutaneous nerve and medial cutaneous nerve.
• Muscular branches: The nerve to the Pectineus arises
immediately below the inguinal ligament, and passes behind
the femoral sheath to enter the anterior surface of the
muscle. The nerve to the Sartorius arises in common with
the intermediate cutaneous.

42. Cont….
• Posterior division:
• The posterior division of the femoral
nerve gives off the saphenous nerve, and
muscular and articular branches.
• saphenous nerve: is the largest cutaneous
branch of the femoral nerve
• muscular branches: supply the four parts
of the Quadriceps femoris.

43. • The branch to the Rectus femoris supplies to the hip-joint.
• The branch to the Vastus lateralis, gives off an articular
filament to the knee-joint.
• The branch to the Vastus medialis descends lateral to the
femoral vessels in company with the saphenous nerve. It
enters the muscle about its middle, and gives off a filament,
to the knee-joint.
• The branches to the Vastus intermedius, two or three in
number, enter the anterior surface of the muscle about the
middle of the thigh; a filament from one of these descends
through the muscle to the knee-joint.

44. Cont….
• The articular branches to the knee-joint are
three in number.
• One is derived from the nerve to the Vastus
lateralis; it penetrates the capsule of the joint on
its anterior aspect.
• Another, derived from the nerve to the Vastus
medialis, can usually be traced downward on the
surface of this muscle to near the joint
• The third branch is derived from the nerve to the
Vastus intermedius.

45. Cont….

46. Cont….

47. Cont….