Anterior branch of obturator nerve

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nerve: Anterior branch of obturator nerve

Nerves of the right lower extremity. Front view.
Latin	ramus anterior nervi obturatorii
Gray's	subject #212 954
From	obturator nerve
Dorlands/Elsevier	r_02/12688785

The anterior branch of the obturator nerve leaves the pelvis in front of the Obturator externus and descends in front of the Adductor brevis, and behind the Pectineus and Adductor longus; at the lower border of the latter muscle it communicates with the anterior cutaneous and saphenous branches of the femoral nerve, forming a kind of plexus.

It then descends upon the femoral artery, to which it is finally distributed. Near the obturator foramen the nerve gives off an articular branch to the hip joint.

Behind the Pectineus, it distributes branches to the Adductor longus and Gracilis, and usually to the Adductor brevis, and in rare cases to the Pectineus; it receives a communicating branch from the accessory obturator nerve when that nerve is present.

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.