thigh medial compartment Flashcards
(15 cards)
What are the muscles of the medial thigh compartment?
- Adductor longus 2. Adductor brevis 3. Adductor magnus 4. Gracilis 5. Pectineus (sometimes included)
What is the common function of medial thigh muscles?
ADDUCTION of the thigh (except gracilis, which also flexes the knee).
Which nerve innervates most medial thigh muscles?
Obturator nerve (L2-L4) except: - Adductor magnus (hamstring part): Tibial nerve - Pectineus: Femoral nerve (sometimes obturator)
What is the origin of adductor longus?
Body of pubis (near pubic symphysis).
What is the insertion of adductor longus?
Middle 1/3 of linea aspera (femur).
What is the action of adductor brevis?
Adducts and weakly flexes the thigh.
Which muscle has both adductor and hamstring functions?
Adductor magnus: - Adductor part: Obturator nerve - Hamstring part: Tibial nerve (extends thigh)
What is the origin of gracilis?
Inferior pubic ramus (near symphysis).
What is the insertion of gracilis?
Pes anserinus (medial proximal tibia) with sartorius & semitendinosus.
What is unique about gracilis?
Only medial thigh muscle that crosses both hip AND knee joints (flexes knee).
What is the “adductor hiatus”?
Gap in adductor magnus tendon allowing femoral artery/vein to pass from anterior to posterior thigh (becoming popliteal vessels).
Which artery supplies the medial compartment?
Profunda femoris artery (branch: medial circumflex femoral artery).
What is the clinical significance of the adductor canal?
Contains femoral artery/vein, saphenous nerve, and nerve to vastus medialis (vulnerable in trauma).
How to test obturator nerve function?
Adduction against resistance (patient lies supine, knees flexed → press inward on knees while they resist).
What causes “obturator nerve entrapment”?
Pelvic tumors/hernias → medial thigh pain (Howship-Romberg sign: pain along inner thigh).
