Obturator nerve

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Nerve: Obturator nerve

Structures surrounding right hip-joint. (Obturator nerve labeled at upper right.)

Nerves of the right lower extremity. Front view.
Latin	nervus obturatorius
Gray's	subject #212 953
Innervates	medial compartment of thigh
From	Lumbar plexus
To	posterior branch of obturator nerve, anterior branch of obturator nerve
MeSH	[1]

Main article: Spinal nerves

The obturator nerve is one of the spinal nerves. It arises from the ventral divisions of the second, third, and fourth lumbar nerves; the branch from the third is the largest, while that from the second is often very small.

Path[]

It descends through the fibers of the Psoas major, and emerges from its medial border near the brim of the pelvis; it then passes behind the common iliac vessels, and on the lateral side of the hypogastric vessels and ureter, which separate it from the ureter, and runs along the lateral wall of the lesser pelvis, above and in front of the obturator vessels, to the upper part of the obturator foramen.

Here it enters the thigh, through the obturator canal, and divides into an anterior and a posterior branch, which are separated at first by some of the fibers of the Obturator externus, and lower down by the Adductor brevis.

Innervation[]

The Obturator nerve is responsible for the sensory innervation of the skin of the medial aspect of the thigh.

It is also responsible for the motor innervation of the adductor muscles of the lower extremity (external obturator, adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, gracilis).

Bilateral Neurectomy

Branches[]

Additional images[]

External links[]

Duke Orthopedics obturator_nerve
SUNY Labs 12:st-0602
Cross section at UV pelvis/pelvis-female-17

Memorial University of Newfoundland - Anatomy at MUN nerve/lumbnerv
Memorial University of Newfoundland - Anatomy at MUN nerve/obtnerv
Norman/Georgetown posteriorabdomen (posteriorabdmus&nerves)
cutaneous field at neuroguide.com

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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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.

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Nerves of lower limbs and lower torso: the lumbosacral plexus

lumbar plexus: iliohypogastric - ilioinguinal - genitofemoral (femoral branch/lumboinguinal, genital branch) - lateral cutaneous of thigh (patellar) - obturator (anterior, cutaneous, posterior, accessory) - femoral (anterior cutaneous branches, saphenous)