The anterior compartment of thigh contains muscles which extend the

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the ...

and flex the hip.

Structure

The anterior compartment is one of the fascial compartments of the

thigh In human 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 ...

that contains groups of muscles together with their nerves and blood supply. The anterior compartment contains the

sartorius muscle The sartorius muscle () is the longest muscle in the human body. It is a long, thin, superficial muscle that runs down the length of the thigh in the anterior compartment. Structure The sartorius muscle originates from the anterior superior ili ...

(the longest muscle in the body) and the quadriceps femoris group, which consists of the rectus femoris muscle and the three vasti muscles – the vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, and the

vastus medialis The vastus medialis (vastus internus or teardrop muscle) is an extensor muscle located medially in the thigh that extends the knee. The vastus medialis is part of the quadriceps muscle group. Structure The vastus medialis is a muscle present ...

. The iliopsoas is sometimes considered a member of the anterior compartment muscles, as is the articularis genus muscle. The anterior compartment is separated from the posterior compartment by the lateral intermuscular septum and from the medial compartment by the medial intermuscular septum. Image:Gray430.png, Anterior aspect of right leg. Image:Illu lower extremity muscles.jpg, Muscles of leg

Nerve supply

The nerve of the anterior compartment of thigh is the femoral nerve. Innervation for the quadriceps muscles come from the posterior division of the femoral nerve, while the anterior division (which contains cutaneous as well as muscular components) gives a lateral and a medial branch, the second being responsible for the innervation of the sartorius muscle. The iliacus and the

psoas major The psoas major ( or ; from grc, ψόᾱ, psóā, muscles of the loins) is a long fusiform muscle located in the lateral lumbar region between the vertebral column and the brim of the lesser pelvis. It joins the iliacus muscle to form the ilio ...

and psoas minor muscles, sometimes considered part of the anterior compartment, do not share the same innervation. Whereas the iliacus is innervated by the femoral nerve, the psoas is innervated by ventral rami of L1-L3.

Blood supply

When the external iliac artery crosses the inguinal ligament, it becomes the femoral artery, which supplies blood to the anterior compartment and is the largest blood vessel of the inferior member.

Function

The anterior compartment of thigh contains muscles which are extensors of the

and flexors of the hip joints.

Clinical significance

The anterior compartment may be affected as part of a compartment syndrome.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anterior Compartment Of Thigh