The anterior cutaneous branches of the femoral nerve consist of the following nerves: ''intermediate cutaneous nerve'' and ''medial cutaneous nerve''.

Intermediate cutaneous nerve of thigh

The intermediate cutaneous nerve (middle cutaneous nerve) pierces the fascia lata (and generally the sartorius) about 7.5 cm below the

inguinal ligament The inguinal ligament (), also known as Poupart's ligament or groin ligament, is a band running from the pubic tubercle to the anterior superior iliac spine. It forms the base of the inguinal canal through which an indirect inguinal hernia may ...

, and divides into two branches which descend in immediate proximity along the forepart of the

thigh In anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip (pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of bone tissu ...

, to supply the skin as low as the front of the knee. Here they communicate with the anterior division of lateral cutaneous nerve, the anterior division of medial cutaneous nerve and the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous, to form the

patellar plexus The patellar plexus is a nerve plexus within the subcutaneous tissue overlying and surrounding the patella and ligamentum patellae. It is a fine network of communicating nerve fibres. It is formed by the anterior division of lateral femoral c ...

. In the upper part of the thigh the lateral branch of the intermediate cutaneous communicates with the lumboinguinal branch of the

genitofemoral nerve The genitofemoral nerve is a mixed branch of the lumbar plexus derived from anterior rami of lumbar nerves L1–L2. It splits into a genital branch and a femoral branch. It provides sensory innervation to the upper anterior thigh, as well as t ...

Medial cutaneous nerve of thigh

The medial cutaneous nerve (internal cutaneous nerve) passes obliquely across the upper part of the sheath of the

femoral artery The femoral artery is a large artery in the thigh and the main arterial supply to the thigh and leg. The femoral artery gives off the deep femoral artery and descends along the anteromedial part of the thigh in the femoral triangle. It enters ...

, and divides in front, or at the medial side of that vessel, into two branches, an anterior and a posterior. The anterior branch runs downward on the sartorius, perforates the fascia lata at the lower third of the thigh, and divides into two branches: one supplies the integument as low down as the medial side of the knee; the other crosses to the lateral side of the patella, communicating in its course with the infrapatellar branch of the

saphenous nerve The saphenous nerve (long or internal saphenous nerve) is the largest cutaneous branch of the femoral nerve. It is derived from the lumbar plexus (L3-L4). It is a strictly sensory nerve, and has no motor function. It commences in the proximal (u ...

. The posterior branch descends along the medial border of the sartorius to the knee, where it pierces the

fascia lata The fascia lata is the deep fascia of the thigh. It encloses the thigh muscles and forms the outer limit of the fascial compartments of thigh, which are internally separated by the medial intermuscular septum and the lateral intermuscular sept ...

, communicates with the saphenous nerve, and gives off several cutaneous branches. It then passes down to supply the integument of the medial side of the leg. Beneath the fascia lata, at the lower border of the

adductor longus In the human body, the adductor longus is a skeletal muscle located in the thigh. One of the adductor muscles of the hip, its main function is to Adduction, adduct the thigh and it is innervated by the obturator nerve. It forms the medial wall ...

, it joins to form a plexiform net-work (subsartorial plexus) with branches of the saphenous and obturator nerves. When the communicating branch from the obturator nerve is large and continued to the integument of the leg, the posterior branch of the medial cutaneous is small, and terminates in the plexus, occasionally giving off a few cutaneous filaments. The medial cutaneous nerve, before dividing, gives off a few filaments, which pierce the fascia lata, to supply the integument of the medial side of the thigh, accompanying the long saphenous vein. One of these filaments passes through the saphenous opening; a second becomes subcutaneous about the middle of the thigh; a third pierces the fascia at its lower third.

Additional images

Image:Gray580.png, The

great saphenous vein The great saphenous vein (GSV; ) or long saphenous vein is a large, subcutaneous, superficial vein of the human leg, leg. It is the longest vein in the body, running along the length of the lower limb, returning blood from the foot, human leg, le ...

and its tributaries at the fossa ovalis. Image:Thigh cross section.svg, Cross section of

References

{{Authority control Nerves of the lower limb and lower torso