ANAT: Lower limb anatomy

Question 1

What three muscles does the deep fibular nerve innervate?

Answer 1

• Tibialis anterior
• Extensor digitorum longus
• Extensor hallucis longus

Question 2

What are the two important muscles of the lateral compartment of the leg?

Answer 2

• Fibularis longus.

- Fibularis brevis.

Question 3

Injury to the common fibular nerve can lead to what clinical sign?

Answer 3

Foot drop.

Question 4

• What are the three borders of the femoral triangle?

- Where are they?

Answer 4

• Sartorius (lateral)
• Adductor longus (medial)
• Inguinal ligament (superior)

Question 5

What are the four major components of the femoral triangle? (Hint: NAVY acronym)

Answer 5

• Femoral nerve.
• Femoral artery.
• Femoral vein.
• Y-front (i.e. the midline).

Question 6

What is the location and shape of the popliteal fossa?

Answer 6

• Posterior knee joint.

- Diamond shape.

Question 7

What are the four major components (lateral to medial) of the popliteal fossa?

Answer 7

• Common fibular nerve.
• Tibial nerve.
• Popliteal vein.
• Popliteal artery.

Question 8

What are the four borders of the popliteal fossa?

Answer 8

• Superior lateral: Biceps femoris.
• Inferior lateral: Lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle.
• Superior medial: Semimembranous muscle.
• Inferior medial: Medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle.

Question 9

Which two components of the femoral triangle have the anterior superior iliac spine as their origin?

Answer 9

• Sartorius muscle.

- Inguinal ligament.

Question 10

What sort of tissue is the meniscus of the knee, and what (general) shape does it make?

Answer 10

• Fibrocartilage.

- Figure-8.

Question 11

Ligaments connect bone to bone. What are the six ligaments to know for the knee, and which are extracapsular and intracapsular ligaments?

Answer 11

INTRACAPSULAR

• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
• Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)
• Transverse ligament

EXTRACAPSULAR

• Medial collateral ligament
• Lateral collateral ligament
• Patellar ligament

Question 12

• What are the the two superficial veins of the lower leg?

- What veins do they empty into?

Answer 12

• Greater saphenous vein.
• -> Empties into femoral vein.
• Lesser saphenous vein.
• -> Empties into popliteal vein.

Question 13

• Name the eight deep veins of the lower leg.

- Where do they empty into?

Answer 13

• Tibial
• Fibular
• Popliteal
• Femoral
• External and internal iliac
• Common iliac
• Plantar
• Inferior vena cava.

Question 14

• What nerve supplies the two lesser gluteal muscles (gluteus medius and gluteus minimus)?
• What nerve supplies the gluteus maximus?

Answer 14

• Superior gluteal nerve.

- Inferior gluteal nerve.

Question 15

What are the two actions of the two lesser gluteal muscles?

Answer 15

• Abduction of the hip.

- Medial rotation of the thigh.

Question 16

What is the action of the gluteus maximus?

Answer 16

• External rotation of the hip.

- Extension of the hip joint.

Question 17

What nerve innervates the tensor fasciae latae?

Answer 17

Superior gluteal nerve.

Question 18

What is the chief action of the tensor fasciae latae?

Answer 18

Hip flexion.

Question 19

• What are the four heads of the quadriceps femoris?

- What nerve innervates the quadriceps femoris?

Answer 19

• Rectus femoris.
• Vastus lateralis.
• Vastus intermedius.
• Vastus medialis.
• The femoral nerve.

Question 20

• What muscle aside from the quadriceps femoris is in the anterior compartment of the thigh?
• What nerve innervates this muscle?

Answer 20

• Sartorius.

- Femoral nerve.

Question 21

The obturator nerve innervates all but one of the muscles in the medial thigh. What are the muscles of the anterior thigh, which are innervated by the obturator nerve, and which isn’t? What nerve innervates it?

Answer 21

OBTURATOR NERVE

Adductors

• Adductor longus
• Adductor magnus
• Adductor brevis
• Gracilis

FEMORAL NERVE
- Pectineus