Lateral cutaneous nerve of thigh 3956459 185763417 2008-01-21T01:48:51Z Arcadian 104523 clean up - image using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{Infobox Nerve | Name = {{PAGENAME}} | Latin = nervus cutaneus femoralis lateralis | GraySubject = 212 | GrayPage = 953 | Image = Gray822.png | Caption = Plan of [[lumbar plexus]]. (Lateral femoral cutaneous visible at left.) | Image2 = Gray825and830.PNG | Caption2 = Cutaneous nerves of the right lower extremity. Front and posterior views. | Innervates = Skin on the lateral part of the [[thigh]] | BranchFrom = [[lumbar plexus]] (L2–L3) | BranchTo = | DorlandsPre = n_05 | DorlandsSuf = 12565556 | }} The '''lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh''' (also called the '''lateral femoral cutaneous nerve''') is a [[cutaneous nerve]] that innervates the skin on the lateral part of the [[thigh]]. ==Structure== The lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh is a nerve of the [[lumbar plexus]]. It arises from the dorsal divisions of the second and third lumbar nerves. It emerges from the lateral border of the [[psoas major]] at about its middle, and crosses the [[iliacus]] muscle obliquely, toward the [[anterior superior iliac spine]]. It then passes under the [[inguinal ligament]] and over the [[sartorius]] muscle into the thigh, where it divides into an anterior and a posterior branch. The anterior branch becomes superficial about 10 cm below the inguinal ligament, and divides into branches which are distributed to the skin of the anterior and lateral parts of the thigh, as far as the knee. The terminal filaments of this nerve frequently communicate with the anterior cutaneous branches of the [[femoral nerve]], and with the infrapatellar branch of the [[saphenous nerve]], forming with them the [[patellar plexus|peripatellar plexus]]. The posterior branch pierces the [[fascia lata]], and subdivides into filaments which pass backward across the lateral and posterior surfaces of the thigh, supplying the skin from the level of the [[greater trochanter]] to the middle of the thigh. ==Additional images== <gallery> Image:Gray546-LFC.png|Lateral cutaneous nerve of thigh and other structures passing behind the inguinal ligament Image:Gray580.png|The great saphenous vein and its tributaries at the fossa ovalis. Image:Gray823.png|The lumbar plexus and its branches. Image:Gray824.png|Deep and superficial dissection of the lumbar plexus. Image:Gray826-LFC.png|Diagram of segmental distribution of the lateral cutaneous nerve (shaded) and other nerves of the right leg. Front view. Image:Gray826and831.PNG|Cutaneous nerves of the right lower extremity. Front and posterior views. </gallery> ==See also== * [[cutaneous nerve]] * [[Posterior cutaneous nerve of thigh]] * [[Meralgia paraesthetica]] ==External links== * {{DukeOrtho|lateral_femoral_cutaneous_nerve}} * {{eMedicineDictionary|Lateral+cutaneous+nerve+of+thigh}} * {{SUNYAnatomyLabs|40|17|02|01}} - "Posterior Abdominal Wall: Nerves of the Lumbar Plexus" * {{MUNAnatomy|nerve/lumbnerv}} * {{NormanAnatomy|posteriorabdomen}} ({{NormanAnatomyFig|posteriorabdmus&nerves}}) {{Gray's}} {{Lumbosacral plexus}} {{neuroscience-stub}}