| Nerve: Posterior cutaneous nerve of thigh | |
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| Cross-section through the middle of the thigh. (Posterior femoral cutaneous nerve labeled at bottom.) | |
| Nerves of the right lower extremity. Posterior view. (Post. fem. cutaneus labeled at upper left.) | |
| Latin | nervus cutaneus femoris posterior |
| Gray's | subject #213 959 |
| From | sacral plexus (S1-S3) |
| To | inferior clunial nerves, perineal branches |
The posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh (also called the posterior femoral cutaneous nerve) provides innervation to the skin of the posterior surface of the thigh and leg, as well as to the skin of the perineum.
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The posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh is a nerve from the sacral plexus. It arises partly from the dorsal divisions of the first and second, and from the ventral divisions of the second and third sacral nerves, and issues from the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen below the piriformis muscle.
It then descends beneath the gluteus maximus with the inferior gluteal artery, and runs down the back of the thigh beneath the fascia lata, and over the long head of the biceps femoris to the back of the knee; here it pierces the deep fascia and accompanies the small saphenous vein to about the middle of the back of the leg, its terminal twigs communicating with the sural nerve.
Its branches are all cutaneous, and are distributed to the gluteal region, the perineum, and the back of the thigh and leg.
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.
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