Obturator Nerve Flashcards
Nerve course?
formed by the anterior divisions of the second, third and fourth lumbar nerves.
It descends through the fibres of the psoas major muscle and emerges from its medial border, running posteriorly to the common iliac arteries and laterally along the pelvic wall to the obturator foramen. It then enters the thigh through the obturator canal and splits into anterior and posterior divisions.
The anterior division descends between the adductor longus and adductor brevis muscles towards the femoral artery, giving off branches to the adductor longus, adductor brevis and gracilis muscles. In rare cases it also gives off a branch to the pectineus muscle. It then pierces the fascia lata to become the cutaneous branch of the obturator nerve.
The posterior division descends through the obturator externus muscle before passing anteriorly to adductor magnus and giving off branches to supply it
