Fascia Lata Flashcards
What is fascia defined as?
A sheet or band of fibrous tissue lying deep to the skin that lines, invests and separates structures within the body
What are the general classifications of fascia?
Superficial
Deep fascia
Visceral
What does superficial fascia do?
Blends with the reticular layer beneath the dermis
What does deep fascia do?
Envelopes muscles, bones and neurovascular structures
What does visceral fascia do?
Provides membranous investments that suspend organs within their cavities
What is the fascia lata?
A deep fascial investment of the whole thigh musculature
What is fascia lata analogus to?
A strong, extensible and elasticated stocking
Where does the fascia lata begin most proximally?
Around the iliac crest and inguinal ligament
Where does the fascia lata end most distally?
The bony prominences of the tibia
What happens to the fascia lata at the bony prominences of the tibia?
It continues to become the deep fascia of the leg (crural fascia)
How much does the width of the fascia lata vary at different regions of the thigh?
Considerably
Where is the fascia lata thickest?
Along the superolateral aspect of the thigh, originating from the fascial condensations from the gluteus maximus and medius
Around the knee
What happens to the fascia lata around the knee?
It receives reinforcing fibres from tendons
Where is the fascia lata thinnest?
Where it covers the adductor muscles of the medial thigh
What does the deepest aspect of the fascia lata give rise to?
Three intermuscular septa that attach centrally to the femur
What do the three intermuscular septa of the fascia lata do?
Divides the thigh musculature into three compartments, anterior, medial, and lateral
Which intermuscular septa is strongest?
The lateral
Why is the lateral intermuscular septa strongest?
Due to reinforcement from the iliotibial tract
What is present in the fascia lata?
The saphenous opening
What is the saphenous opening?
An ovoid hiatus
Where is the saphenous opening found?
Just inferior to the inguinal ligament
What does the saphenous opening serve as?
An entry point for efferent lymphatic vessels, and the great saphenous vein
What do the efferent lymphatic vessels drain into?
The superficial inguinal lymph nodes
What does the great saphenous vein drain into?
The femoral vein
What covers the saphenous opening?
A covering of membranous tissue called the cribriform fascia
How does the saphenous opening develop?
Inferomedially from a sharp margin of the gap (the falciform margin)
When do femoral hernias develop?
When an out-pouching of gastric viscera protrudes through the femoral canal