HLTH1008 Chap.5 Thigh Compartments and the Femoral Triangle
Thigh Compartments and the Femoral Triangle
The thigh is organised into fascial compartments, each with its own main nerve: femoral in front, obturator medially and sciatic behind. This chapter sets out the muscles of each compartment and their skin supply, then follows the femoral artery from the external iliac artery through the femoral triangle and adductor canal to the adductor hiatus, where it becomes the popliteal artery.
It also covers the femoral sheath and canal, the great saphenous vein and the saphenous nerve. Spotter questions here usually flag a vessel or nerve and ask for its next name, its branch or the muscles it supplies. These routes reappear in the knee chapter, where the femoral artery becomes the popliteal artery.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Anterior compartment and the femoral nerve
- 02
Medial compartment and the obturator nerve
- 03
Posterior compartment and the sciatic nerve
- 04
Femoral triangle, sheath and canal
- 05
Adductor canal and adductor hiatus
- 06
Profunda femoris and the popliteal artery
- 07
Great saphenous vein and saphenous nerve
Worked example · free
Naming the nerve of a weak movement in the thigh
- +1Hip adduction is the action of the medial compartment muscles.
- +1The medial compartment is supplied by the obturator nerve.
- +1The obturator nerve also supplies the skin of the medial thigh, matching the numbness.
- +1Its roots are L2 to L4; knee and hip extension, femoral and sciatic territory, are spared.
Key terms
- Femoral canal
- The medial compartment of the femoral sheath below the inguinal ligament.
- Adductor canal
- A musculofascial tunnel in the middle third of the anteromedial thigh.
- Adductor hiatus
- The opening in adductor magnus through which the femoral vessels pass to the back of the knee.
- Profunda femoris
- The deep artery of the thigh, the major deep branch of the femoral artery.
- Saphenous nerve
- The cutaneous branch of the femoral nerve that runs with the great saphenous vein.
- Femoral nerve
- The nerve of the anterior thigh, whose saphenous branch reaches the medial leg and foot.
- Obturator nerve
- The nerve from L2 to L4 that supplies the adductor muscles of the thigh.
- Femoral triangle
- The region below the inguinal ligament containing the femoral nerve, artery and vein.
Thigh Compartments and the Femoral Triangle FAQ
Where can the femoral artery be felt?
At the mid-inguinal point, just below the inguinal ligament, where the external iliac artery has become the femoral artery. The Week 3 answers also describe this site as the usual point for passing a catheter for angiography, which is why its position in the femoral triangle is examined.
What passes through the adductor canal?
The femoral artery and the femoral vein. The canal lies in the intermediate third of the anteromedial thigh, with sartorius labelled on its medial side, and the artery leaves it through the adductor hiatus to continue as the popliteal artery behind the knee.
Which nerve supplies the hamstrings?
The sciatic nerve, L4 to S3, supplies every muscle of the posterior compartment of the thigh: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and both heads of biceps femoris. It divides into the tibial and common fibular nerves above the knee, sometimes much higher.
What is the femoral canal?
The course defines it as the medial compartment of the femoral sheath, the fascial sleeve that encloses the femoral vessels just below the inguinal ligament. Its position within the femoral triangle, alongside the femoral artery, vein and nerve, is a final exam revision item.
Where does the great saphenous vein end?
It begins at the dorsal venous arch of the foot, passes just in front of the medial malleolus, runs up the medial leg and thigh with the saphenous nerve beside it below the knee, and drains into the femoral vein in the femoral triangle.
Exam move
Learn the thigh as three columns, one per compartment, listing the muscles, the nerve, the main movement and the skin area. Then trace the femoral artery from the inguinal ligament to the popliteal fossa on a diagram, writing its name at each landmark and adding the profunda femoris. Finish by labelling the femoral station photographs, saying the order of structures in the femoral triangle aloud.
Add the gluteal and posterior thigh station labels, the sciatic nerve deep to piriformis and the hamstrings below it, so the posterior compartment is learned on specimens as well as in the table.
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