Anterior cutaneous nerves of the thigh !
The anterior cutaneous nerves of the thigh are skin branches of the femoral nerve that carry feeling from the front of the thigh.
Official name: Anterior cutaneous branches of femoral nerve
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What it is
The front skin branches of the femoral nerve.
What it does
Carry feeling from the skin of the front of the thigh.
Key facts
- Roots
- L2–L3 (anterior cutaneous branches of femoral nerve)
- Moves
- None (purely sensory, cutaneous)
- Feeling from
- Anterior and medial thigh down to knee (intermediate and medial cutaneous nerves of thigh)
Relations
- Course
- Arise from the femoral nerve in the femoral triangle; the intermediate cutaneous nerve pierces the sartorius or the fascia lata in the upper thigh and descends on its front; the medial cutaneous nerve crosses in front of the femoral artery and pierces the fascia lata in the lower thigh
- Deep
- The sartorius and the femoral vessels in the femoral triangle; the rectus femoris and vastus medialis lower down
- Superficial
- Subcutaneous fat and skin; the great saphenous vein runs near the medial branches
- Below
- The patellar plexus over the front of the knee
How to find it
They cannot be felt. After piercing the fascia lata they lie in the subcutaneous fat: the intermediate nerve down the front of the thigh, the medial nerve along its medial side toward the knee.
Examination
- Light touch and pinprick on the front and medial thigh: an isolated patch of loss with normal knee extension and patellar reflex points to these branches
On imaging
Usually not seen on routine imaging: these thin branches lie in the fat over the front and inner thigh. High-resolution ultrasound can follow them from the femoral nerve near the sartorius to where they pierce the fascia lata, mainly to block them or find a neuroma. When the front of the thigh is numb, imaging looks at the femoral nerve and the lumbar roots instead.
Clinical notes
- Groin and anterior thigh incisions (femoral access, vascular grafts, great saphenous vein harvest in the thigh) can cut them, leaving a numb patch on the front of the thigh
- They are numbed by a femoral nerve or fascia iliaca block, used for anterior thigh skin procedures such as split-skin graft harvest
- Numbness confined to the outer thigh points to a different nerve: the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (meralgia paresthetica), a direct lumbar plexus branch that passes under or through the inguinal ligament near the ASIS
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Of which nerve are the intermediate and medial cutaneous nerves of the thigh branches?
The femoral nerve (L2–L3); they are purely sensory.
What does numbness of the front of the thigh with normal quadriceps strength and patellar reflex point to?
A lesion of the anterior cutaneous branches of the femoral nerve, not the femoral trunk.
Which plexus do the anterior cutaneous nerves of the thigh help form?
The patellar plexus in front of the knee, with the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve and the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve.
Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.
Its names
- Official Latin (TA2)
- rami cutanei anteriores nervi femoralis TA2 6524
- Official Spanish (DeCS)
- Ramos cutáneos anteriores del nervio femoral
- English (TA2)
- Anterior cutaneous branches of femoral nerve
- Also called
- anterior femoral cutaneous nerves · anterior cutaneous nerves of thigh · rami cutanei femoris anteriores · rami cutanei ventrales
Related
Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Thigh Nerves.
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.
