Lecture 20, Muscles of The Medial Thigh & Femoral Triangle

Question 1

Muscles of The Medial Thigh

Answer 1

collectively called the adductor group are in the medial compartment of the thigh and are innervated primarily by the obturator nerve

Question 2

Adductor longus

Answer 2

the most anterior muscle in the group and (adducts hip joint/obturator nerve - L2, L3, L4)

Question 3

Adductor brevis

Answer 3

deep (posterior) to the pectineus and adductor longus muscles (adducts hip joint and to some extent flexes it/obturator nerve (L2, L3, L4))

Question 4

Adductor magnus

Answer 4

the largest adductor muscle, composed of adductor and hamstring parts; the parts differ in their attachments, nerve supply and main actions (adducts hip joint, its adductor part also flexes hip joint, and its hamstring part extends it/adductor part: obturator nerve hamstring part: tibial part of sciatic nerve (L4))

Question 5

Gracilis

Answer 5

a long, strap-like muscle lying along the medial side of the thigh and knee; it is the only adductor muscle to cross and act at the knee joint as well as the hip joint (adducts hip joint; flexes knee joint and helps rotate it medially/obturator nerve (L2, L3))

Question 6

Obturator externus

Answer 6

a deeply placed fan-shaped muscle in the superomedial part of the thigh (laterally rotates the hip joint, pulls head of femur into acetabulum holding pelvis steady/obturator nerve (L2, L3))

Question 7

Adductor hiatus

Answer 7

the adductor hiatus is an opening between the distal aponeurotic attachment of the adductor part of the adductor magnus and the tendon of its hamstring part. The hiatus transmits the femoral artery and vein from the anterior compartment of the thigh to the popliteal fossa posterior to the knee

Question 8

Femoral triangle

Answer 8

is a subfascial space in the anterosuperior third of the thigh, appears as a triangular depression inferior to the inguinal ligament when the thigh is flexed, abducted and laterally rotated. The femoral triangle is bounded by the following:
- superiorly by the inguinal ligament, which forms the base of the femoral triangle
- medially by the adductor longus
- laterally by the sartorius; the apex is where the medial border of the sartorius crosses the lateral border of the adductor longus
the muscle floor by the femoral triangle is formed by the iliopsoas laterally and pectineus medially
the roof is formed by fascia lata, cribiform fascia, subcutaneous tissue and skin
- femoral triangle includes femoral nerve and its (terminal) branches, femoral artery and several of its branches, femoral vein, and its proximal tributaries, and deep inguinal lymph nodes and associated lympathic vessels