Thigh

From ArticleWorld

The thigh is the portion of the leg that begins in the area of the buttocks and ends at the level of the knee. The thigh consists of the most powerful muscles in the body. These muscles and supportive ligaments are necessary for ambulation and for supporting the weight of the upper body.

Anatomy

The skeletal support of the thigh is basically that of the femur. The muscles of the thigh are divided up into three main compartments. The muscles in the same compartment generally work together.

The blood supply to the thigh is via the femoral artery and its branches. A deep arterial branch, the deep femoral artery, goes to supply the deeper tissues. The great saphenous vein and the femoral vein empty the majority of the blood from the leg.

Anatomy

The anterior compartment is the front of the thigh. They both participate in flexing the hip and in extending the knee. The rectus femoris muscle, the vastus lateralis and the vastus medialis together form the quadriceps muscles of the anterior compartment. The longest muscle of the body, the sartorius, begins on the upper outer thigh and ends on the distal inner thigh.

The posterior compartment of the thigh consists primarily of the hip extensors and the knee flexors. The biceps femoris and the semitendinosus muscles are the two main hamstring muscles. The large sciatic nerve traverses the thigh in this area as well.

The medial compartment of the thigh contains the muscles that adduct the thigh or bring it toward the midline. These muscles are the adductor longus, the adductor brevis and the gracilis muscle.

Diseases

The thigh is a relatively common area of muscular or tendon injury in athletes. A “pulled hamstring” muscle is when, through injury or overuse, the tendon that attaches one of the hamstring muscles becomes inflamed. The cardiovascular system in the thigh can also be affected by disease. The saphenous vein can become redundant, forming a varicose vein. The deep femoral vein can develop a blood clot in it—one that has the potential to be life-threatening. Another common inflammatory condition occurs when the iliotibial band becomes inflamed. People with this condition often feel a point of tenderness upon directly pushing on the greater trochanter.