This document provides an overview of the medial compartment of the thigh. It discusses the muscles found in the medial compartment, including the gracilis, adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, and sometimes the pectineus and obturator externus. The blood supply and nervous supply to these muscles is also described. Key nerves mentioned are the obturator nerve, sciatic nerve, and femoral nerve.

2. Assalam-o-Alaikum
GUYS!

3. Medial Compartment of
Thigh
Osama Ahmad 1st Year MBBS
KMC Peshawar

4. Learning Objectives
 Introduction to lower limb its compartments and
specially the Medial one.
 Muscles of Medial Compartment
 Their Blood Supply
 Nervous Supply
 Important Nerves

5. In Normal day to day conversation we
use the term leg for whole of the
lower limb but in the language of
anatomy Leg is a part of L.L.
Lower Limb is Divided into:
• Thigh (region Between pelvic region and knee
joint)
• Leg (region between Knee and Ankle Joint)
• Foot (Below Ankle)

7. Today’s Topic is a part of Thigh
portion…

8. Compartments of Thigh
Muscles of Thigh are Divided into Three
3 compartments by the septas of Deep
Fascia:
Anterior Compartments
Medial Compartments
Posterior Compartments

9. The septas arise from
the deep fascia (fascia
lata) and converge on
the lips of linea
aspera (Latin: rough
line) is a roughened
ridge on the posterior
surface of the shaft of
the femur below the
Gluteal Tuberosity.

11. Today We are concerned
only with Medial
Compartment
Medial Compartment is Also called Adductor Compartment
because of their combined adduction action.

12. Muscles:
 There are total 5 Muscles in this
Compartment.
 There is controversy among the writers
about 5th muscle that either it is pectineus
or obturator externus muscle

13. Muscles of Medial Compartment
 Gracilis
 Adductor longus.
 Adductor brevis
 Adductor magnus
 The pectineus is sometimes included in this group, and
sometimes excluded. (It has the same function as the
others in this group, but different innervation – the
femoral nerve.)
 The obturator externus muscle is sometimes considered
part of this group, and sometimes excluded.(Spatially, it is
in this location, but functionally, it is more similar to the
other lateral rotator group muscles).

16. Blood supply:
 Muscles are supplied by Obturator artery whuch
is Branch of internal iliac artery and profunda
femoris artery which is the largest branch of
Femoral artery and arises from lateral side of it
below the inguinal ligament in femoral triangle.
 It descends in the interval between adductor
longus and adductor Brevis and then lies on the
adductor magnus.

17. Profunda
femoris artery

19. Obturator Artery

20. Nervous Supply
There are three nerves involve:
 Obturator Nerve (gives the most of inervations)
 Sciatic Nerve (gives inervation to hamstring portion of adductor Magnus)
 Femoral Nerve (gives inervation to Pectineus)
We will discuss them at the end… one by one

21. Now let’s discuss
muscles one by one

22. 1.Gracilis: the medial most muscle
 Gracilis
Origin: ramus of ischium and inferior pubic
ramus
Insertion : medial side of proximal part of tibia
Action : adducts thigh at hip joint , flexes leg at
knee joint
Innervation : Obturator nerve

23. ramus of ischium and inferior
pubic ramus
medial side of proximal
part of tibia

24. Adductor Longus : forms floor and
medial border of femoral triangle
Origin: Body of the Pubis medial to pubic
tubercle
Insertion - linea aspera of femur
Action – adducts thigh at hip joint and
medial rotates
Innervation – Obturator nerve

25. Body of the Pubis
linea aspera

26. Adductor Brevis
Origin – Inferior pubic ramus
Insertion – linea aspera of femur
above the adductor longus
Action – adducts thigh at hip joint
Innervation : Obturator nerve

27. Inferior pubic ramus
linea aspera of femur

28. Adductor Magnus
 Origin – Ischiopubic ramus and ischial tuberosity
Insertion – 2 insertions
linea aspera of femur a bit lateral to previous
adductors and also on adductor tubercle
Action – adducts and medial rotates thigh
HamString portion extends thigh at hip
Innervation –adductor portion : Obturator nerve
Hamstring portion: sciatic nerve

29. Ischiopubic ramus and
ischial tuberosity
Adductor Huiatus
Adductor tubercle

31. Muscles of posterior
compartment are collectively
called hamstrings.
They arise from ischial
tuberosity.
Due to this reason the part of
adductor magnus that arise
from ischial tuberosity is
called hamstring portion

32. Adductor hiatus
 the adductor hiatus is
a hiatus (gap)
between the
adductor magnus
muscle and the femur
that allows the
passage of the
femoral vessels from
the anterior thigh to
the posterior thigh
and then the popliteal
fossa.
Adductor Huiatus

34. Pectineus
Pectineus
– Origin - pubis
– Insertion – lesser trochanter
– Action – adducts,medial rotates
thigh
– Innervation : femoral nerve

35. Pectineus

37. Obturator externus
 Origin : outer surface of
obturator membrane and
pubic and ischial remi
 Insertion : medial surface
of greater trochanter
 Action: Laterally rotates
thigh at hip
 Innervation : Obturator
nerve

38. Obturator Nerve
 Gets origin from ventral portion of anterior rami
of L2, L3 and L4 .
 Upper part of this nerve lies in pelvis and enters
into the thigh by passing through the obturator
canal.
 Immediately it passes through the obturator
canal at the posterior aspect of the superior
ramus of pubis it divides into anterior and
posterior divisions
 Anterior division passes behind pectineus and
add longus and infront of add brevis supplying
them and gracilis and ends by supplying the
femoral artery.

39.  Posterior branch passes between add brevis and magnus supplying half of add
brevis and also to add magnus.
 It ends by giving branch to popletial artery.

42. Acessory obturator nerve
 Arise from L3 and L4
 In human anatomy, the accessory
obturator nerve is an accessory nerve in
the lumbar region present in about 29% of
cases.
 It supplies capsule of hip joint if present
other wise anterior branch of obturator
gives branch.

43. Sciatic nerve
 The sciatic nerve is formed
from the L4 to S3 segments of
the sacral plexus, a collection
of nerve fibres that emerge
from the sacral part of the
spinal cord. The fibres unite to
form a single nerve in front of
the piriformis muscle.
 The sciatic nerve is the
longest and largest nerve in
the human body, running from
the lower back through the
back of the leg, and down to
the toes

46. Thank Youfor the attentive ears of yours