Saphenous nerve

Nerve: Saphenous nerve
Nerves of the right lower extremity. Front view. (Saphenous labeled at center right.)
Latin	nervus saphenus
Gray's	subject #212 956
From	femoral nerve (L3, L4)

The saphenous nerve (long or internal saphenous nerve) is the largest cutaneous branch of the femoral nerve.

Path

It approaches the femoral artery where this vessel passes beneath the sartorius, and lies in front of the artery, behind the aponeurotic covering of the adductor canal, as far as the opening in the lower part of the Adductor magnus.

Here it quits the artery, and emerges from behind the lower edge of the aponeurotic covering of the canal; it descends vertically along the medial side of the knee behind the sartorius, pierces the fascia lata, between the tendons of the Sartorius and Gracilis, and becomes subcutaneous.

The nerve then passes along the tibial side of the leg, accompanied by the great saphenous vein, descends behind the medial border of the tibia, and, at the lower third of the leg, divides into two branches:

• one continues its course along the margin of the tibia, and ends at the ankle.
• the other passes in front of the ankle, and is distributed to the skin on the medial side of the foot, as far as the ball of the great toe, communicating with the medial branch of the superficial peroneal nerve.

Branches

The saphenous nerve, about the middle of the thigh, gives off a branch which joins the subsartorial plexus.

At the medial side of the knee it gives off a large infrapatellar branch, which pierces the sartorius and fascia lata, and is distributed to the skin in front of the patella.

Below the knee, the branches of the saphenous nerve (medial crural cutaneous branches) are distributed to the skin of the front and medial side of the leg, communicating with the cutaneous branches of the femoral, or with filaments from the obturator nerve.

Clinical Significance

Procedures such as saphenous vein cutdown can result in damage to the saphenous nerve, resulting in loss of cutaneous sensation in the medial leg. This is due to the intimate path that the saphenous nerve and the great saphenous vein travel.

Additional images

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  Cross-section through the middle of the thigh.

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  Cross-section through middle of leg.

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  The femoral artery.

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  Cutaneous nerves of the right lower extremity. Front and posterior views.

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  Cutaneous nerves of the right lower extremity. Front and posterior views.

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  Diagram of the segmental distribution of the cutaneous nerves of the sole of the foot.

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  Deep nerves of the front of the leg.

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  Nerves of the dorsum of the foot.

External links

• Saphenous+Nerve at eMedicine Dictionary
• SUNY Labs 12:08-0102 - "Structures of the Adductor Canal"

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.