There is one bone in the thigh called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong, and forms a ball and socket joint at the hip, and a condylar joint at the knee.
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2 Blood vessels |
Fascial compartments
In cross-section, the thigh is divided up into three fascial compartments. These compartments are have the femur as an axis, and are separated by tough connective tissue membranes (or septa). Each of these compartments has its on blood and nerve supply, and contains a different group of muscles.
Anterior compartment
This contains the flexors of the hip, and extensors of the knee, such as the quadriceps femoris. These muscles are supplied by the femoral nerve and the femoral artery.
Medial compartment
The obturator nerve supplies the hip adductors in this compartment. Muscles include adductor longus, adductor brevis and gracilis.Posterior compartment
The muscles here are the hamstrings. These muscles flex the knee, and extend the hip. This compartment is sciatic nerve territory.